Extending the Boundaries
by Orodruin
Summary: As he begins to come into his own, Harry Hatake must find a way to make a name for himself and break out of his brother's shadow. But the past won't be left behind and with an old threat reemerging, Harry may find he needs more help than ever. SOI Sequel.
1. Special Type

**Extending the Boundaries**

_R. Winters_

Disclaimer: I still don't own _Naruto_ or _Harry Potter_. Go figure. (Ditto for the rest of the chapters in this story.)

So, here it is: the long awaited sequel! I don't expect to be updating more than once or twice a month for now, and depending on my duties that may change, but in the interest of interest, here's the first chapter! Chapter 2 will be up probably just after Christmas. Hope you enjoy the new story!

Chapter 1 – Special Type

Darkness curled around him like a living being, pressing against his body, his eyes, his mind. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw a flash of green and spun around, the response of his body was sluggish as though moving through sand rather than air.

"Harry."

The whisper raised the hairs on the back of his neck and he felt something bone-chillingly cold brush against his left side. He turned again, frustration bubbling up inside of him side by side with fear and helplessness.

He was blind in the most absolute sense of the word. He couldn't see anything but the inky, all-encompassing blackness, and he could feel nothing—not even chakra—around him. He couldn't feel the ground beneath his feet or the air against his skin. It was like he had been cut off from all of his senses.

"Who's there?" His own voice issued into the darkness, distorted and garbled, echoing weakly before being swallowed up completely.

"Harry…"

The voice was hoarse, a slippery whisper that seemed closer this time. Harry's heart pounded as he forced himself to move, searching the darkness desperately. But there was nothing to be seen.

His head throbbed.

"What is this?" He demanded of the voice, projecting confidence he didn't really feel into the words. "Who's there?"

Like a heavy blow, pain suddenly exploded in Harry's head and his world of darkness crashed in around him with a cacophony of rushing wind carrying his name as an angry howl and a brilliant, intense green-white light that pressed in and blinded him as effectively as the darkness had an instant before. Harry raised an arm, attempting to shield his eyes from the sudden, painful assault, stumbling backwards as he did.

"Harry!"

In an instant, a face appeared, barely a hair's breadth from his own; bone white, drenched in blood, with a widely spread, grinning mouth and glowing red eyes.

Harry almost cried out in surprise, but the sound caught in his throat as he fell back.

The teen landed on the floor with a thump, struggling as the shout finally burst from his lips. His eyes snapped open and it took his racing heart a few seconds to settle as he slowly recognized his own room.

Adrenalin drained from his blood and Harry collapsed into a limp pile on the floor, still haphazardly tangled in his own blankets. He lay there several seconds, breathing slowly returning to normal, before he brushed back sweaty white bangs and had another go at escaping from his bedding.

The Chuunin easily found his way out, piling the blankets onto his bed again, and shuffled across to his kitchenette to fetch some water as he wiped the sweat from his face.

He shook his head, downing most of a glass of cool water in one gulp before pausing to breathe. He leaned heavily against the counter, staring intently at the familiar shadows of his room.

He sighed and shook his head again, draining the glass completely before setting it aside. He faced his bed again, considering for a moment before allowing his eyes to wander to his alarm clock.

Harry grimaced. "Too late to go back to bed, isn't it," he groused, although with the way his heart was still pumping vigorously in his chest, he doubted he would have slept more, anyway.

It would undoubtedly be another long day.

* * *

"Very well," the Hokage said with a small, dismissive nod.

The three Chuunin saluted briefly before turning to the door.

"Wait a moment," the Sandaime called, causing the three to pause. He smiled wanly, "Harii, there is something else I would like to speak with you about before you leave."

Harry exchanged a quick look with his teammates, their eyes meeting briefly, before he shrugged and turned back to the Hokage. He heard the other two men leaving behind him and smiled uncertainly.

"What can I do for you, Hokage-sama?" He asked respectfully.

The Sandaime shifted through the papers on his desk, "There is someone I would like you to teach for me."

Harry blinked in surprise at the unexpected statement; then he frowned and wondered if the Hokage had become senile in the last few years. "Hokage-sama… no offense, but I don't see how that's possible. I'm only a Chuunin; I'm not qualified to take on a team."

The old man smiled opposite him, "I'm not asking you to train an entire team, Harii, just one apprentice. There are two days before the students meet their teachers, in the meantime I would like you to test for Special Jounin."

"That still doesn't qualify me—"

"Special Jounin are qualified to take on apprentices," the Sandaime interrupted mildly, "In most cases, their apprentices are experienced Genin or young Chuunin, but taking on a rookie Genin isn't completely unprecedented."

Harry frowned, "Why are you going to all the trouble of making such an exception?"

"Harii," the Hokage leaned onto his elbows and met his eyes across the wide desk, his expression intent. "There is a student at the Academy who has had close to failing grades since he first entered, and not because of a lack of understanding or strength… it appears that he is completely unable to mold chakra."

Harry blinked in surprise, "Completely? You mean…?"

"That boy can't even hold a decent henge for any length of time," the Sandaime said ruefully, "We had him tested after he failed his final exam for the second time in a row. The instructors were petitioning to drop him from the program, but the Hyuuga discovered that well over half of his tenketsu are fake."

Harry's eyes widened, "So… he's a wizard, then?"

"It would seem that way," the old man confirmed with a nod, "So, what do you say, Harii? Will you train him for me?"

Harry hesitated. "I just… I'm not sure if I can train a student that well… especially in _magic_!"

"Well, you are our resident expert," the Hokage said, "No one in Konoha could train him better than you."

Harry said nothing. The idea of having a student felt weird to him. Even his brother hadn't taken on students, yet. All the same, he couldn't refuse his Hokage.

"… I'll take him to Diagon Alley to get a wand," Harry conceded at length, "If he really turns out to be a wizard… then I guess I'll… teach him what I can."

"You'll do fine, Harii," the old man assured him, "And you can ask Kakashi if you need help—he's set to take a team this year, too."

Harry smirked. _That_ wasn't going to happen. He'd probably fail them again; just like he'd failed every team he'd accepted responsibility for since the whole mess with Voldemort and the Uchiha Rebellion, when he had been officially discharged from ANBU.

"… What do I need to do for the test?" He asked, shaking the thought from his head. If the Hokage wanted to believe Kakashi would finally accept a team, it wasn't really Harry's place to contradict him.

"You'll begin with a written exam. Meet with Iruka-sensei at the Academy at 1530," the man directed, "He'll be expecting you. Be at training grounds A-14 at 0600 tomorrow morning. And try not to be late," he smiled, "I know it's early, but we have to push things along quickly to get you certified in time."

Harry nodded, biting back the instinct to remind the Hokage that he was _Harry _and not _Kakashi_, and that it was _Kakashi_ who had the habit of being late for things, not him.

* * *

At exactly 1530, Harry knocked on the door of Iruka's classroom. The young man twisted around at the blackboard with a smile.

"Hatake Harii?" He prompted.

Harry nodded and stepped inside. He paused, frowning at the man's face thoughtfully. He was sure he recognized it.

"I have your test up here," the Chuunin said, dropping the eraser on the tray and walking to his desk.

Harry descended the steps to join him as the man shuffled through papers. The teen's frown deepening slightly as he mulled over the older man's identity.

The man glanced at him briefly, a slight flush on his face. "Maybe it's in here," he muttered, opening one of his drawers, "I know I have it…"

"… Have we met before, Iruka-sensei?" Harry asked—it was still bothering him that he couldn't place the face.

"Hmm?" The man glanced up again, "Oh, well, you graduated before I started working here, right? I don't… ah! Here it is!"

It was just tickling at Harry's mind when his eyes landed on the thick stack of papers the man had pulled out. His eyes widened and he stared. "What's that?"

"The test for Special Jounin," Iruka supplied, dropping it on the desk in front of the teen—it landed with a _whomp_ of displaced air and chalk dust—Harry cringed. "You're allowed to take as long as you need." Iruka added.

"… Is it at least multiple-choice?" Harry asked hopefully.

"I don't know," Iruka shrugged, "I've never taken it. Good luck!" He turned back to his blackboard and picked up the eraser again.

With a sigh, Harry reluctantly gathered his test and headed to a vacant row of desks. He settled in the middle, with plenty of room to spread out across the table, groped in a pocket for his pencils, and set them next to the test while he broke the seal.

Harry's hopes of multiple-choice questions were crushed when his eyes landed on the first page; a large block paragraph with a question mark at the end and the entire page blank for his answer. Biting back a groan, the teen set to work.

It was just before midnight when he finally finished, and Harry was exhausted. He stretched and stood up, shoving his well-worn pencils back into his pocket and collecting his papers.

"Done?" Iruka called from the front. He'd been in and out a few times during the test, but had dutifully remained present until Harry was finished.

"Yeah," Harry tried not to sound as tired as he felt, but doubted he'd made a good enough effort. "Are you?"

"I'm on my last paper," Iruka replied, looking down at his work again.

Harry grabbed the thick stack of papers and put them back in the folder they'd been given to him in. He folded it over and activated the seal again, his own chakra signature would be on it when it was delivered to the Hokage, and he'd know the answers hadn't been tampered with.

Walking to the Chuunin's desk again, Harry let the packet hit the table with a second _whump_. He forced back a yawn.

"Did you eat yet?" Harry had worked straight through dinner and hadn't noticed the other man being gone long enough to have eaten.

"Not yet," Iruka muttered, touching red ink to the paper to mark something.

"I was thinking I'd stop somewhere," Harry said, "Want to come with?"

Iruka looked up again, staring at him for a moment before smiling slightly. "Sure, Harii, that would be nice. Do you know any places that are open this late?"

"What time is it?" Harry asked, glancing around for a clock.

"Almost midnight," Iruka answered at the same time that he found it, hanging on one side of the room.

Harry grimaced, "… I think we can get rice cakes at The Spire."

The Chuunin glanced at him critically again, "Aren't you too young to drink?"

"A shinobi is never too young to drink," Harry quoted before adding, "I don't drink much, but Hitsuya-sensei brought my team there when we were Genin, after we'd gotten back from a mission later than we expected."

"Alright," Iruka agreed, "Just one more second…" he put a final mark at the bottom of the paper and added it to his stack, "There, I'm done." He grabbed Harry's test from the edge of his desk, "We'll just drop this off at the Tower on the way, alright?"

Harry nodded, his stomach giving a gurgle of anticipation.

Iruka laughed, "You sound hungry—I promise I'll be quick."

Harry laughed with him and rubbed the back of his head. Together, the two men set off.

* * *

They'd just left the Hokage Tower—Harry's test safely stored away—when it hit him. Harry stopped abruptly.

"Oh."

Iruka paused, looking back at him, "What is it?"

Harry considered a moment before shrugging, "Nothing… it's nothing." He joined the other man again, feeling mildly uncomfortable. He'd just remembered where he knew the Chuunin from.

Back then, Iruka had been an Academy student, and he'd only been in the village for a little over a year. Iruka was supposed to have taken him and Tenzou to the caves. Instead, all three of them ended up in the middle of the Kyuubi's battlefield. Iruka's parents had been killed in that fight, and he thought it best not to remind him of the incident.

"So… you're Kakashi-san's brother, right?" Iruka asked.

"Yeah, you've heard of me?"

"Er…" Iruka's cheeks colored slightly. Harry grinned—the older man blushed easily for a Chuunin.

"I'm joking," he assured the teacher, "But that's what most people say, so I have to have a little fun with it when I can."

Iruka chuckled, "Sorry… you're not what I would have expected. You're only seventeen, right? Becoming a Jounin—even a Special Jounin—at that age is really impressive."

Harry shrugged, "Sandaime-sama is just letting me do it 'cause he wants me to teach one of the graduates." And his brother was a Jounin at thirteen, so it didn't seem that impressive.

Iruka stared at him, "He wants you to train a team already?"

"Not a team!" Harry said quickly, "Just an apprentice. In my… uh, special techniques."

The teacher was silent for a moment, mind thrown back to consider each of the graduating students. He wasn't teaching that class, but he'd made a point to get to know even the students who weren't in his class. What could one of them have in common with the brother of the famous Copy-nin?

"There it is," Harry said, nodding his head in the direction of the small bar.

As a Genin, Harry had found The Spire's atmosphere completely alien and entirely intimidating. There had been hardened shinobi everywhere, drinking stiff drinks and talking loudly. One man had done nothing but spew out long strings of curses as he periodically swung his fist around him. The air had seemed thick with smoke and he'd thought it was almost like stepping onto another planet. He and his teammates had stuck close together.

The air didn't seem as smoky as he remembered it, and the loud, drunk patrons weren't nearly as intimidating as they'd been six years ago. Harry didn't even feel himself stiffen up as he sidestepped a stumbling drunk on his way to the counter.

"This place is disgusting," Iruka muttered as they found themselves relatively clean seats at the bar.

"Most of these places are," Harry said. These kinds of bars were hiding places for the shinobi who couldn't quite hold themselves together all of the time.

Iruka looked at him.

"Er—I have a friend who takes great pleasure in describing to me every seedy place he's been to in vivid detail," Harry added. And Tenzou was far too cheerful in recounting every detail; Harry supposed he found some amount of amusement in tormenting him.

The older man raised an eyebrow, "Okay…"

Harry didn't bother defending his good taste further, because the barkeeper—a spunky young brunette—approached them, smiling dazzlingly.

"What can I get you boys?" She asked invitingly, leaning over to prop her elbows on the counter and poise her pencil on the pad, revealing a tease of the cleavage hidden by her top.

"A bottle of sake and two orders of rice cakes," Harry said. Quickly, he amended, "Better make that three." He was starving, and could eat much more than he could when he was eleven.

"You got it, sweetie," the girl winked, "I'll be back in a minute."

"I thought you said you didn't drink," Iruka said dryly, glancing across at the teen.

"I don't," Harry said, "It's only sake. Besides, I'm sharing with you."

"I don't really drink, either," Iruka said, "Besides, I have to be alert for classes tomorrow."

"And I have to be alert for my test," Harry said, "A little bit of alcohol won't hurt you, and if you come into a place like this without drinking anything, you'll attract too much attention." He raised an eyebrow, looking across at the older man, "You aren't a lightweight, are you?"

Iruka flushed, "I can hold down a few drinks…"

* * *

As it turned out, Iruka wasn't able to hold down a few drinks quite as well as he might have liked the younger man to believe. When they left the bar, forty minutes and a bottle of sake later, the elder Chuunin was a little tipsy. Harry watched with concern as he swayed on the uneven ground right outside the bar's door.

"Are you sure you can get home okay?" He asked with concern.

"Yeah, yeah, no problem—I dringh all the time," Iruka answered with a watery smile.

Harry's concern went up a notch. He shook his head and muttered, "We didn't have to drink the whole bottle…"

Iruka wasn't listening, he was whistling brightly as he walked a meandering line down the road. Harry followed—the least he could do was make sure the other guy made it back to his home safely.

"Thish was fun," Iruka's speech slurred a little, "We should do it again shome-sometime."

"Yeah, sure," Harry agreed off-handedly. Idly, he wondered why he'd never checked to see if there was a spell that would cancel the effects alcohol had on the body—it was just the sort of nonsense wizards would concoct. "Come on, Iruka, you've got to get to bed. Hopefully the hangover won't be bad enough to keep you from teaching…"

Iruka giggled and Harry revised his opinion. The elder Chuunin wasn't just a little tipsy. He was completely drunk. Hopefully there wouldn't be any regurgitation involved.

"I like teaching," Iruka said, his voice a little sing-song. "The children are so sweet, and they learn so quickly, except…"

Abruptly, Iruka's drunken amusement vanished and he scowled, "Except _that_ one."

Harry yanked him out of the way of a street lamp before the man could walk into it. "Iruka-sensei… I think that's enough. Where do you live?"

"I don't know why Hokage-sama put him in _my_ class," the teacher bemoaned, "He's completely hopeless, that little…" He hiccupped.

"You know what? We'll just go back to my apartment. It's not far," Harry offered.

Iruka muttered something that sounded suspiciously like _demon brat_. Harry sighed.

"Sorry for this, Iruka," he muttered, before quickly pressing in on a pressure point at the back of the man's neck. Instantly, the elder nin collapsed and Harry struggled for a moment to keep him from falling flat on his face.

With a grunt, the teen repositioned him on his shoulder and headed out again, more quickly this time.

He dragged the man all the way up to his apartment, and dropped him on the couch. He was beginning to think it hadn't been such a good idea to invite him out to a late dinner. It certainly hadn't been a good idea to buy sake.

Harry frowned at the unconscious man for a moment and then shook his head and retired to his room, pulling out his futon and stripping down for bed.

It wasn't like Iruka's hostility was particularly surprising, and Harry knew, from Naruto's off-handed comments, that the boy tended to get a bad rap by the teachers at school. Still, he thought a teacher should make an effort to know his students, not just assume they're a bad egg to start off.

He could understand. He'd been there the night Iruka's parents were murdered, and could sympathize with the man who'd lost nearly everything so early in his life. Still, Naruto never had much to begin with, and it wasn't fair for people to take out their grief on him.

The teen shook his head again as he slid between the layers of his futon. Iruka had been drunk, after all. He probably didn't even mean anything by what he'd said. And Naruto _was_ a little hopeless.

* * *

Harry was up and freshly showered by five-thirty the next morning. His impromptu house guest was still unconscious on his couch, and Harry stood over him, debating whether he should wake him or not.

In the end, prudence won out and he reached over to jostle the young teacher.

"Iruka," he muttered as the man stirred, "Iruka-sensei…"

With a groan, the man turned over, and his eyes slowly blinked open. Harry smiled at the bleary look shooting up at him.

"I know it's still early… but I probably won't be back until late, and if I didn't wake you now, you might've slept through your class," Harry explained.

Iruka continued to stare up at him blankly, nothing appearing to register for several long seconds. Then his eyes widened. He jolted upright, wincing immediately at the sudden movement, and looked around wildly at everything.

"What are you—where am I?" He managed to grind out of a hoarse throat, one hand holding his forehead in pain.

"My apartment," Harry said, backing away, "You weren't really in any condition to walk home alone, so… I'll go get you some water."

When Harry reentered the room, Iruka had adopted a more upright position, his feet on the floor and elbows on his knees, supporting a bowed head. Harry thought he looked a little green and hoped—again—that he wouldn't throw up.

"You going to be okay?" Harry asked, handing the glass to the other man.

Iruka took a long drink before nodding.

"Yeah… thanks." He drained the rest of the glass and pushed to his feet. "I'm going to head home and freshen up." He returned Harry's glass. Harry walked him to the door, watching as the man got his bearings before letting himself out.

"And… Iruka?" Harry called after him.

Iruka paused, looking back at him.

Harry frowned, "You should give him a chance." Before Iruka could question the statement, he plowed on, "Naruto's a goofy kid, but he really pulls through when people show him a little faith."

Not allowing the older Chuunin a chance to respond, Harry shut the door and headed back to his room for a few last minute preparations.

* * *

The Jounin that greeted him was an Aburame. Harry recognized the long white jacket and black sunglasses of one of the village's most famous clans. Most ninja balked at fighting against the Aburame type—the type that could drain them of chakra with little more than a look.

Harry almost grinned. The Aburame type was his favorite to fight. They expected a man to be powerless as they drained his chakra, but Harry didn't need chakra to fight. If it came to it, he could still fight even if his legs didn't have the necessary energy to hold themselves up. Magic didn't rely on inner strength the way that Ninjutsu did—not directly.

"—Finally, you are to utilize a minimum of five special jutsu during our match," the man concluded in the same, weary monotone he'd been using since Harry had greeted him.

Harry frowned, eyebrows drawing together in confusion, "Hold on—what special jutsu?"

The Aburame paused, glancing up at him. He was silent for a long moment. "You are testing for the rank of Special Jounin," he said dryly, "Classification: Special Type."

Harry wondered at the wording for a moment, "… What?"

The man sighed and adjusted his glasses briefly, "There are numerous types of Special Jounin. Assassin, Medic, Intelligence, Tracking… you will be of the Special Type; a Special Jounin that is the expert in a specific type of jutsu or attack—for example, historically a large number of Uchiha have been promoted for their expertise in Fire Jutsu, and occasionally those with excellent Taijutsu become Special Type Jounin."

Harry's frown tightened a little. He couldn't think of one field he was especially good in, let alone _expert_. He'd only just begun training with Elemental chakra, so it couldn't have anything to do with that. He wasn't exceedingly skilled in any jutsu—Taijutsu, Genjutsu or Ninjutsu. He couldn't think of anything he would qualify as an _expert _in.

And then he recalled the Hokage's words the day before. _"You're our resident expert…"_

The teen's gut plummeted. So _that_ was what would be his claim to fame. His 'special ability.' At first thought it seemed ridiculous—to consider his natural talent for magic, which had threatened to tear him away from the shinobi world, was now the thing that would bring about his promotion. And then it didn't seem so silly.

It _was_ a useful talent. More than scrubbing dishes or turning porcupines into pincushions, magic had a vast array of both defensive and offensive applications. The problem was that most ninja, if they saw the mysterious light of a spell flying at them, were fast enough to get out of the way. Harry had spent the last two years trying to work out ways to minimize this handicap, but he still didn't consider himself an expert at using magic offensively against shinobi.

"Are you prepared, Harii?" The Aburame questioned.

Harry nodded. If the Hokage wanted magic, he was going to show everyone just how much he'd learned.

* * *

"Congratulations," the Hokage smiled across at him, the wrinkles on his face multiplying with the gesture. Harry usually felt at ease for seeing it, but in front of a board of Jounin and Special Jounin—most of the high ranking ninja currently in the village—and with the village council standing at the old man's side, Harry only felt nervous.

"Hatake Harii," the Sandaime continued in an official tone, "You have proved yourself on the battlefield, and again amongst witnesses here today, that you harbor the Will of Fire that is so highly prized among the shinobi of Konohagakure. Your success in battle and your dedication to your peers and your Hokage has not gone unnoticed. I hereby award you the rank of Tokubetsu Jounin. Please come see me tomorrow for your new assignment."

There was a stiff round of applause before people began filing out of the room. Harry continued to stand at attention, waiting until the council members left last—he couldn't tell what their backwards glances at him meant, and he didn't try thinking too hard on it.

He stepped forward. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi waved his thanks aside, "Tsukose briefed me on your performance. He was very impressed."

Harry flushed a little, "Ah… well, I've been trying to find a way to make spells useful in combat for a while now."

The older ninja nodded, "And it seems you're doing an excellent job. I think your student will be lucky to have you as a teacher. Together, you'll become a new branch of our military—a secret weapon that the other nations will find impossible to predict."

Harry wasn't sure that the Sandaime's high hopes were well founded, but he didn't dare to disagree. Had what he'd done really been all that impressive? Most of the time, his tricks had been reduced to throwing spells from behind his enemy's back or hiding himself with trees and smoke. An Academy student could have done as well.

"Your new uniform will be ready in three to four days, so please pick it up then," the Hokage continued, "And you are to meet your student at the Academy at 1300 tomorrow." He lifted a green file from his desk and held it out, "This is his information."

With a nod, Harry accepted the folder. He opened it briefly to glance at the first page. "Rock Lee?" He read, looking from the name to the goofy looking eleven-year-old with long black hair and eyes that seemed too round for his face.

The Sandaime smiled.


	2. Squad Harii

** Extending the Boundaries**

_R. Winters_

Thank you for all of the reviews! I'm glad so many people are enjoying this already. Like I said before, the updates will be slow coming. I'll try my hardest to get Chapter 3 up in a timely manner, but it will probably take until March for me to get it posted because of some intensive training I will be doing in the meantime.

A quick note: Harry is currently 17, which makes Naruto 10 and Lee 11. The way I justify graduating Lee a year early is... he showed absolutely no potential for Ninjutsu in the Academy, which is what the last year or two focus on intensely. It was lucky Lee wasn't dropped in the series for having no talent as a ninja and somehow mysteriously making it through the final exams which clearly require Ninjutsu ability. Perhaps the Hokage and his teachers thought he might absorb at least a little ability with one more year of hard training, but with Harry around, they now have another option. Since Lee wouldn't get much out of another year at the Academy, he was put someplace where he would learn and grow as a shinobi.

I will strive, as always, to keep plotholes from creeping up and maintain the true sense of the characters, even if alternate experiences shape them differently. Let me know how you think I'm doing, or if you think I'm missing something-your input is very helpful! And, of course, I love hearing from you if you've enjoyed the chapter!

Chapter 2 – Squad Harii

Harry watched from where he leaned against the wall next to the door as the boy glanced around in confusion, watching the last of his classmates disappear after their sensei. Even _Kakashi's _team had managed to get out on time, if only because his brother had somehow wrangled himself a mission that would take the rest of the day—the three unlucky Genin hopefuls wouldn't be seeing their teacher until his test tomorrow.

After half a second, the boy's hand shot straight into the air.

"Hukaro-sensei, what about me?" He blurted out loudly.

"Lee-kun…" The man looked in Harry's direction, pinning the newly promoted Special Jounin a hard look before returning his gaze to the student. "You will be apprenticed to Tokubetsu Jounin Hatake Harii."

The boy looked between his instructor and the solitary figure leaning against the wall with a confused expression. Harry couldn't blame the kid—he'd just seen every last one of his classmates trundled off in teams of three, he must feel like the odd one out being given such strange conditions. And to add insult to injury, he'd been stuck with a _Special_ Jounin while everyone else had the full package.

"Sensei…?" The boy started uncertainly.

Harry intervened, rather than allow the kid to start their relationship off on the wrong foot. "Come on, Lee-kun, we've got to get started right away."

The uncertainty lingered a moment longer before the boy nodded, jumping from his seat with an enthusiastic, "Yosh, sensei!"

Harry watched long enough to see the boy hurrying down the steps towards him before slipping out of the room. Lee joined him in the hall a moment later.

"You're wondering why you got stuck with an apprenticeship while everyone else was put on teams," Harry said before the boy could so much as open his mouth.

The youth flushed red and his eyes lowered to the ground before he hesitantly confirmed Harry's statement. "Y-yes… sensei, I was wondering…"

"It's because you're different from your classmates," Harry said bluntly.

The boy's expression fell, Harry noticed out of the corner of his eye.

"Your training needs to be handled differently," Harry added.

"It is because I am a failure at Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, is it not?" The boy asked miserably.

Harry weighed his answer carefully before replying. "In a way… but it's mostly because there may be something you can do that no one else in your class could, Lee-kun."

The boy looked up abruptly, his wide eyes even wider than usual, "Something that I can do but the others cannot?"

"… Follow me, Lee-kun," Harry ordered, increasing his pace to lead the way from the school grounds. Lee hurried to obey.

Harry led his student to the edges of town, until he found a secluded area in which to speak with him near the base of the Hokage cliff. He sat, and motioned Lee to sit next to him on a wide tree stump. The boy scrambled to obey, still staring up at him attentively. Harry tried to ignore the eager attention.

"Lee-kun… have strange things ever happened around you?" Harry asked.

The boy frowned at him, his bushy eyebrows lowering, "What kind of strange things, sensei?"

Harry found it odd to be called _sensei_; especially since he still called his _own_ teachers that. He shrugged off his unease. "Maybe people who have made fun of you face inexplicable accidents. Maybe misfortune saves you from having to take a particularly difficult test, or you find that when you're looking for something you need, it's always right in front of you."

Lee frowned deeply in thought. "I… I suppose some things that have happened to me could be considered… _unusual_," he admitted reluctantly. "Once some of the other boys in my class were chasing after me—" he gave the teen a cautious look and added, "—for a game, and their shoes all disappeared, allowing me time to escape. Another time, Yarou-sensei, ah… _misplaced_ his grading syllabus and he was forced to allow us to retake his final exam…" The boy hesitated, then added, "Yarou-sensei was impatient, though, so he ended up passing the entire class."

Harry smiled slightly, "Yes, just like that. Also, you've found yourself unable to do Ninjutsu and Genjutsu," quickly, he continued, "But it's not really your own fault."

Lee looked at him strangely.

"You see, Lee-kun," Harry continued, "Your tenketsu… your chakra openings are unusual. A large number of them are what is known as False Tenketsu… but the name is misleading, because they aren't really tenketsu at all and don't have anything to do with chakra."

Harry smiled slightly at the confused boy, "I also have false tenketsu… instead of openings connected to my chakra circulatory system they look like they're opening to nothing at all. But what they're really doing is channeling energy from around me… into magic."

Lee stared at him, his eyes empty of comprehension.

"Lee-kun… the reason you were assigned to be my apprentice, even though I've only just been made a Special Jounin…" Harry started again, "Is because I'm a wizard… and you may be, too."

"Wizard?" Lee repeated with confusion.

Harry slipped his hidden wand from the bracer around his right forearm to his hand and flicked it at a nearby tree. "_Abrumpo_!" With a flash of red light, the base of the limb he was pointing at shattered, and the large branch fell to the ground with a _crash!_ Harry looked at Lee, who was gaping at the destruction. He smirked, "And all without any chakra."

"Wow," Lee whispered harshly in awe, "You can really… you really can do things like that?"

Harry nodded, "And, if we're right, and you are a wizard, you can, too."

Lee turned his wide, round eyes back to him and stared with something similar to worship.

"We'll leave today," Harry added, "At 1700. We have a little time until then, so we'll get to know each other."

"Where are we going?" Lee asked with alarm.

Harry rolled his wand between his fingers. "To get you a wand," he said, giving the stick one last spin before sliding it back into his bracer.

"Now," Harry leaned back, sending the boy a measuring look. "Tell me about yourself. I know what your grades at the Academy were like, but now I want to know what _you_ are like."

Lee could only gape at him a moment longer before eagerly rattling off anything and everything he thought might interest his new sensei.

* * *

Harry glanced at his watch during a lapse in conversation, and noticed it was already a little past five. He stood and motioned for Lee to stand with him.

"This is it," he told the boy, "We're heading to Diagon Alley to see if you can get a wand."

"Where is this _Diagon__ Arii_?" Lee asked curiously.

Instead of answering, Harry pulled a small, round, silver pendant on a long chain from underneath his shirt with one hand and removed his wand again with the other. He dangled it between them for a moment—the front bore the image of a hand holding a shining stick, and the back was stamped with smaller images of several strange creatures the likes of which Lee had never seen.

"All you need to do is touch it," Harry told Lee, holding it towards the boy.

Lee looked at his teacher uncertainly, but obeyed without question. Harry pressed the tip of his wand to the front of the portkey—the face that bore the image of the wizard's wand.

"_Tripudium,_" Harry said, once he was sure his student was securely attached to the portkey.

Lee let out a strangled yelp as he was suddenly jerked forward.

Harry managed to keep his feet as the world coalesced around them again, and he reached out quickly to catch his staggering student. They were facing a large, wooden door surrounded by stone walls.

"Harry!" A surprised voice behind them caused Harry to turn quickly, Lee following the example a little less gracefully. "Do you need more books already?" The woman faltered slightly, the worry in her eyes tending towards confusion as they landed on the smaller boy beside him and the wrinkles on her forehead deepening. "Who is this?"

Harry glanced down at Lee and smiled awkwardly, "This is Rock Lee—sorry, Lee Rock. I'm taking him to Diagon Alley."

The woman frowned, "Harry… you know Diagon Alley isn't for—"

"He's my student," Harry interrupted with his own quizzical frown. "Diagon Alley is the only place I know of to get him a wand."

"A—" the woman faltered in surprise again, looking between the white haired teen and his black haired companion. "He's a wizard?"

Harry nodded, "It seems that he is."

The woman hesitated, looking between the two boys again, not quite sure what to make of the unexpected change. Slowly, she nodded, a little stiffly. "Very well, Harry. I wish you luck."

Harry nodded dismissively, "Thanks, Professor McGonagall. Come on, Lee-kun."He led the way across the Headmistress's office to the fire place, but had to go back and grab Lee's arm to drag him there. The Academy Graduate was too busy staring around at everything—one of the portraits hanging on the wall winked and waved at the startled boy.

"Lee," he snapped, finally managing to gain the boy's attention. "This is important. You need to take this," he poured a handful of floo powder into the boy's hand and curled his fingers over it, "Throw it into that fireplace; and say, as clearly as you can, _Diagon Alley_."

Lee nodded, his eyes beginning to wander again.

"Repeat it for me," Harry demanded.

"Throw this into the fireplace and say _Diagon Arr—Allii_," Lee repeated promptly.

"Dia_gon_ Alley," Harry said. He pushed the boy up to the fireplace, "Go, then."

Lee tossed the handful of powder into the flames, but cringed back a step when they burst into a vibrant green.

"Step into it now," Harry directed impatiently.

Lee shot his teacher a pained look and wondered if he was insane.

Harry gave him a little shove and Lee stumbled forward, wincing. The fire didn't touch him, though, and when he opened his eyes he was standing amongst the flames.

"Remember," Harry ordered, "Diagon Alley."

Lee looked at him over his shoulder before nodding shakily and repeating, "Diagon Alley!"

"Thanks again, Professor McGonagall," Harry called absently over his shoulder, grabbing a handful of powder for himself. Harry tossed his floo powder and stepped inside the roaring flames.

When he emerged in Diagon Alley, he found a shaken Lee standing to the side, smeared in soot and staring at the strange, bustling street with bewilderment.

"This way," Harry said without preamble, turning to the bank.

Lee scampered after him. "Sensei…" He had to pause a moment as his legs moved quickly to catch up with the teen's fast pace, "Sensei, where are we?"

"Diagon Alley," Harry answered with a shrug.

"But…" Lee had to trot to catch up to him again, "There are so many strange things and people! And no one speaks our language—and _you_ were speaking a different language, too! And… and, the sun is in another place!"

"Yes, it's morning here, Lee," Harry confirmed, "We're… very far away." He stopped abruptly and the boy almost ran into him. Turning, Harry gave the boy a serious glare, "Lee, you can't tell anyone about coming here with me today. Not even your own mother. You can't tell anyone about any of this, no one but the Hokage—it's confidential. Understand?"

The boy nodded his head quickly, "Yes, sensei!"

Harry wasn't surprised at the group of men that took off from a street corner, soaring into the sky on broomsticks. He didn't gape at the magical fireworks exploding into moving faces that sometimes stayed long enough to portray a short, dramatic scene. He didn't pay much attention at all to the dogs that barked out human words, or the posters that blazed out personalized advertisements, or the strange, bubbling ingredients in store windows. He wasn't a little boy anymore, and although such things were certainly amazing, a Jounin had an image to maintain.

Lee, however, couldn't stare enough to take everything in. It was all he could do to keep up with his teacher.

What Harry _did_ notice, and Lee failed to, was that the longer he walked, the more people started to notice him.

Harry had been forced to become a part of the world he wanted nothing to do with when he had been abducted four years earlier. It hadn't been that long since he'd defeated one of the evilest wizards the western world had known. He'd never planned on returning after, but had reluctantly come to accept that while he didn't particularly like magic, it was a useful tool.

His white hair and unique style of dress amongst the wizards always garnered him more attention than he wanted and after his first visit, Harry had taken to wearing a henge every time he visited for supplies. Unfortunately, with Lee distracting him he had forgotten completely, and the crowded streets were starting to murmur with his name.

Grabbing Lee's wrist, Harry dragged the straggling boy through the doors of the bank. Lee stared back at the strange street, not noticing how a massive crowd seemed to be staring after them, until they turned the corner. Then he was accosted by yet another bizarre sight.

"What are _those_?" Lee asked in surprise, stopping suddenly to stare.

Harry had only been to this particular bank once, and his skin crawled at the sight of the strange, blue toned things waddling around the counters. "Goblins," he answered stiffly.

The teen approached the first open register with his student in tow and pulled out his key.

"The Potter vault," he ordered, handing over his vault key to the tiny, misshapen creature behind the counter.

The goblin's crooked little eyes examined the key and then Harry's face before motioning for him to follow, "This way."

* * *

One wild carriage ride, a small bag of gold, and a crowd of followers later, Harry finally managed to drag Lee inside Ollivander's, the shop he'd purchased his own wand from, years earlier.

The shopkeeper stared at him with large, round eyes and voiced a measure of surprise, "Mr. Potter—I wasn't expecting to see you again. Nothing wrong with your wand, I hope?"

"It's fine," Harry answered concisely, "I'm here with a student, Lee Rock. Can you see if you can find a wand for him?" He pulled the wary boy forward.

"Lee Rock?" Ollivander repeated, peering at the eleven-year-old curiously, "I'll see what I can do…"

The process was not a short one, and it was well after dark by the time Harry returned to the village with his charge. They were successful, however. Rock Lee was most definitely a wizard, and he had gotten a wand—eleven inches, hard oak, with a dragon heartstring.

"Well, Lee?" Harry stepped back from the boy once his portkey had safely deposited them back in Konoha. "You haven't said anything in over an hour."

"I… I-I… I am a little overwhelmed, sensei," the boy said shakily.

Harry nodded. At least when he'd been taken away to Hogwarts and been shown all of the unbelievable things magic could do, he'd already known it existed and he could use it. He hadn't particularly liked any of it, but he'd known.

"We'll begin training tomorrow," Harry said, "For now you should go home and get to bed. Keep the wand someplace safe and don't try to use it, understand?"

Lee nodded absently.

Harry nodded his approval, "I'll see you tomorrow, then. Better make it 0900, I want you to get plenty of sleep."

"Yes, sensei," Lee answered vaguely, "Goodnight, sensei."

Harry gave the boy a small push to get him going, then turned to head back towards the center of town himself. He had a meeting with the Hokage.

* * *

"So, that's it, then?" The Hokage asked, sounding mildly surprised, "You know he's a wizard just like that?"

"Wands don't react to muggles," Harry replied with a shrug, "Kakashi-niisan always said he never felt anything when he touched a wizard's wand, but even when the wand isn't mine, there's a kind of tingly sensation. Lee-kun… is definitely a wizard."

The Sandaime chuckled, "I wonder how many other wizards have gone unknown in our land. Now that we know what to look for, we'll keep an eye out for them. You may have more students someday, Harii."

Harry grimaced, "I haven't even taught the first one anything, yet. I think I killed off half his brain cells from shock, but I wasn't sure how to break things to him any more gently." He frowned thoughtfully, "Maybe I should have waited a day or two to let him adjust to the idea before taking him to get his wand."

The teen sobered again, "Hokage-sama… I'm really not sure how I can do this. I still have some of my school books, so I guess I can teach Lee the basics of magic… But there are so many different kinds of Taijutsu—how am I supposed to know which to teach him? And what about things like missions? Are we going to go on those? I don't know what to teach him about that. I'm only a—well, I _was_ only a Chuunin until yesterday…"

The Hokage smiled sympathetically, "Harii, even Jounin don't have all the answers when they train their first team. No one expects you to get it perfect from the start. Lee will teach himself over time; your main job is to help him along the way."

"Because you _are_ young for a teacher, you won't be expected to do everything yourself." The old man continued, "I'm sure your old teacher will be happy to give you pointers, and Kakashi has helped train you, you can ask his advice. As for Taijutsu training… you'll want to start with assessing his skill and building off of that. Of course, Lee-kun's only Taijutsu training has been from the Academy, so whichever style you think will work best for someone who predominantly fights with magic would be a good direction to train him in."

Harry wanted to press the man further, but he also didn't want to seem completely incompetent. Not after the Hokage had trusted him with this job. Instead, he nodded, "I see."

"Part of being a Genin, of course, is completing missions," the Hokage continued, "I understand Lee-kun will need more training than most Genin, but I'd still like you to report for missions every other day, at the least. Once a day, if you can manage it. Already Lee-kun is being treated differently from ordinary Genin, it's important that he doesn't feel like he's being held back from his comrades."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Harry nodded again. It was easy for children to believe that being different meant being less than everyone else, especially in a culture that had as much emphasis on unity and conformity to certain rules as theirs did. Harry had spent a good chunk of his childhood feeling alienated and lonely; he would do what he could to ensure his student didn't feel that way.

The teen almost cringed when he realized that he was already beginning to become accustomed with the idea of Lee being his student. It was weird, but he was somehow starting to adapt.

"Since when has anything ever been normal for me?" He muttered to himself with a slight shake of his head.

The Sandaime looked amused. "That will be all, Harii," he said, "I will expect you and Lee-kun to report for your first mission the day after tomorrow. Good luck."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Harry said dutifully, bowing slightly before he left the room.

* * *

"I am sorry, Harii-sensei," Lee apologized when he'd completed the second of the elementary Academy forms that demonstrated Taijutsu techniques the students had been taught. The boy's shoulders were slouched and his head bowed, cheeks red with shame.

Harry raised an eyebrow, "For what?"

Lee fidgeted. "In move sixteen, I did not square off my stance the way I should have. In move twenty-one I extended my punches at incorrect angles. In move thirty my kick was two inches off the straight line…"

"Lee, you don't need to do everything perfect every time you try it," Harry said, smiling softly, "Your stance in move sixteen was fine—actually, you looked more balanced the way you did it than the official requirement. Your punches in twenty-one were fine, the angle's more about making it look snappy, but if you hit someone with them, either way would hurt the same. The only thing to be concerned about is the kick at the end, and I'll bet when you have a target in front of you, you never miss."

If anything, the eleven-year-old looked even more miserable. "That is not true, sensei," he said mournfully, "I often miss, even when I am training with a target."

"The reports from the Academy said you had good accuracy and exceptional power," Harry said, "Are those incorrect?"

"Well… the classes at the Academy are too short to really put a strain on the body," Lee said awkwardly, "But when I train for a long time… I often start to miss and mess up on my kicks and punches."

"Most fights are over within a couple of minutes," Harry said, "But if you're really concerned about your stamina, there are ways we can work on it. For now, I want to see how you do against a real target. Attack me."

The boy hesitated, expression uncertain, then reluctantly nodded. "If you insist, sensei…"

Harry had spent most of the morning thinking about the traditional Jounin-versus-Genin fight. Lee didn't stand a chance, fighting by himself, because there was no possibility to use teamwork to overpower him. Harry had almost decided to forget it, but then he'd thought on the subject a little further.

There was no better way to know someone's abilities than by testing them yourself, hand-to-hand combat was the very best way of measuring his student's level of development. Beyond that, especially with him being as young as he was, it would secure his image of authority in his student's eyes if he were to prove himself as an insurmountable strength. Lee hadn't been disrespectful, but no one would blindly follow someone's directions without knowing that that person was competent.

Even if it was for those reasons alone, Harry had decided to go through with the standard 'test.'

Lee's first several attacks were textbook examples of Academy strategy, a series of punches and kicks meant to force your opponent into a defensive position, all pulled off with the hesitance and uncertainty of an untested rookie. Harry could have easily taken the boy out at any moment; instead he defended, blocking each one of Lee's moves and backing up in the ideal manner of the textbook enemy.

Harry ducked under the finishing move, a roundhouse kick to the head that Lee pulled off with a shout, and caught the leg, snapping it up just quick enough to land the young Genin on his back, but not quite fast enough to do any real damage. Lee groaned and blinked several times as he tried to look up at him.

"Come on, Lee, you can do better than that," Harry chastised, "If this were real, you'd be dead already."

"I am sorry, sensei," the boy said somberly, pushing himself up with a wince.

"Really come at me this time," Harry ordered.

The boy nodded and ran at him again. This time his attacks were a little more random and considerably quicker. He was working off his own initiative this time, instead of a memorized form from the book. Unfortunately, the boy didn't have a lot of battle experience, and lost his balance when Harry blocked a kick and the follow-up punch simultaneously.

Harry caught the boy to keep him from falling over, spun him around, and pushed him into a tree. The boy grunted at the impact.

"Are you trying?" Harry asked, "Just throwing random attacks is no good if the techniques don't flow well together."

"Ye-yes, sensei," Lee grunted, "I… I will try harder."

Harry released the boy and stepped back, waiting for Lee's next move. The boy wheeled around on him with a scream, punching wildly. Harry was forced to retreat from the flailing limbs, and watched with raised eyebrows. The attacks were fast, and he was sure it would hurt at least a little if he were hit, but now he wasn't even throwing in anything unexpected.

Catching one of the boy's fists, Harry moved in to counter when Lee's leg popped up in a side kick, his whole body pushing into the attack. Harry allowed the kick to make contact and almost regretted it when the air rushed out of his lungs. He staggered backwards.

"Harii-sensei!" Lee cried in alarm, eyes wide and apologetic.

Smirking, Harry wiped a thin layer of sweat from his forehead and took a deep, shuddering breath. He took another breath before he dared to talk. He was relieved when his voice came out steady.

"I'm fine, Lee-kun," Harry said, "That's what I wanted to see. Against someone of your same level, an attack like that would be effective to lull your enemy into a sense of repetition and then throw something unexpected at them." His smirk quirked a little wider, "But, you know, most of the other Genin will be able to use jutsu, and they probably won't let you stay close enough to use something like that."

Lee's head dropped, "I am… sorry, sensei."

"You don't need to apologize," Harry said with exasperation, "You're doing fine, Lee, you just need more work in some aspects, just like every other Genin. Now, did you bring your wand? I want to start you out on some basic techniques."

"Yosh!" The boy said excitedly, reaching into one of his belt pouches. He pulled out the long, dark colored wand and looked up at his teacher expectantly, "What jutsu are we going to learn first?"

Harry scratched the back of his head, trying to think of which spell would be the easiest, but would still serve a practical purpose. "We'll start out with a simple charm," he decided. At least if it was a charm, Lee was unlikely to hurt himself if he performed it incorrectly. He drew his own wand.

"First you'll need to memorize the movement," Harry directed, demonstrating the subdued swishing of his wand followed by a small flick.

"Yes, sensei!" Lee said, frowning at the wand as he imitated the Jounin's movement.

Harry watched several times, correcting Lee until he managed to perform it perfectly. Harry thought it looked perfect, at any rate.

"And now we'll practice the spell," Harry said, "Pronunciation is very important when working magic, especially in the beginning. To levitate an object, we say _Wingardium Leviosa._"

Lee stared at him blankly.

"… It's Latin," Harry explained, "Just give it a try. _Wingardium Leviosa._"

The boy frowned again before promptly butchering the spell, "Win-garudiun Revviosa."

Harry rubbed the back of his head, "No, no… Listen closely, Lee. It's WingarDIUM LEViosa. Got it?"

Lee didn't have it. Harry frowned, as the boy mutilated the foreign words once more.

Harry sighed—it seemed like this was going to take longer than he'd thought. The teen slipped his wand back in its place and sat down. "Okay, Lee, let's try again…"

* * *

Harry's head was aching when he reported to the Hokage Tower after dismissing Lee. He spent a moment of confusion wondering where he was supposed to be before he was directed to a meeting room on the top floor. Harry let himself in and felt extremely self-conscious when everyone turned to look at him and one of the Jounin paused mid-report to stare.

Trying not to meet anyone's eyes, Harry quickly took a seat. The Hokage ignored his distraction, and prompted the Jounin to continue.

"Because of those reasons, team 7 does not pass," the man finished.

"Hatake Kakashi," the Hokage prompted, glancing briefly at a list.

"Sloppy formation, horrible teamwork, and below average Genjutsu recognition from two of the three," the man said, his lazy eye still locked on Harry, "Team 8 fails."

Harry quickly smothered a smile. If he was still living with the older man, he knew he would have had to spend the next several days listening to his brother complain about the mediocrity of Genin and the suffering he had to go through as a Jounin examiner. He probably would have already had to listen to Kakashi's complaints and plots to get out of the extra work, if he still lived with him.

Harry did not still live with his brother, though. He'd moved out—or, quite possibly, been kicked out—the year before. Kakashi had bluntly told him that, being fifteen, he was far too old to need to be babysat by his big brother. Harry hadn't been able to do anything but agree, and had found a stack of apartment ads on the table the following morning.

Living on his own had been a little strange and lonely, at first. Knowing that Kakashi wasn't there and wasn't about to walk through the door, but actually lived in a different apartment building half a mile down the street—Kakashi had pointedly shot down his notion of renting out a separate room in the same building, and it was as close as Harry had been able to stay—had made it seem almost like the two of them weren't even brothers anymore.

Then, one night almost two weeks after the move, Kakashi had stumbled into his apartment just past two in the morning, barely awake from chakra drain. Harry had nearly killed him at the door, and then had settled him down on his own futon and spent the remainder of the night deciding he needed to get a spare and realizing that despite different living quarters they were still brothers and could still go to each other if they needed help.

Since then, Harry had grown quite fond of living on his own. He didn't have to worry about stocking the fridge for two people who might or might not be around, he could have Tenzou or Naruto around whenever he felt like it, he could even keep a stash of sweets buried in the back of his closet without worrying that his brother would find them and eat them all despite his self-proclaimed dislike of sugary treats. Best of all, he almost never ran across erotic pictures of men and women on the pages of some book that had been haphazardly left open on the table, or the desk, or the kitchen counter.

"Hatake Harii," the Hokage read, interrupting Harry's musings.

Harry hesitated a moment—did his team have a number assignment? Deciding that wasn't important since he was up last, after all, he simply said, "Rock Lee passes."

Since he'd talked with the Hokage the night before, it was only a formality, but even formalities had to be taken seriously every once in a while.

The Sandaime nodded and rolled up his scroll. "Very well, if no one has anything further to add, then all of you are free to leave."

No one wanted to stay longer, so no one said a word, and the Hokage nodded, leading the way out of the room.

Harry followed as quickly as he could, but was still accosted by his brother before he'd even made it out of the tower.

"Since when are Chuunin given Genin teams?" The man asked suspiciously, "Even with only one student?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably, increasing his pace, "If you'd been around the last couple of days, you'd know I was just promoted to Tokubetsu Jounin."

"I wasn't aware you were up for promotion," Kakashi said, "And it's still unusual."

The teen shook his head, "I didn't know until three days ago, either. And Lee's a wizard, that's why—"

"Hatake Harii!" A loud voice interrupted and Harry turned with some apprehension to see Maito Gai, who'd announced the passing of his own team just a few minutes earlier, striding quickly towards them. Kakashi glanced in the other direction and seemed not to notice the loud voice, although he did edge slightly away from the teen.

"Uh—Gai-san," Harry said awkwardly, "Hello."

The man patted him roughly on the back and Harry tried not to cringe. "No need to be so formal, Harii! Are you not the younger brother of my Eternal Rival? I've told you before, you can call me niisan!"

Harry flushed. Calling Kakashi that seemed natural—after all, Kakashi _was_ his older brother—but he'd never really embraced the habit of calling other people the same thing. Naruto calling him niisan was one thing, he was the closest thing the ten-year-old had to family, but calling a twenty-three year old man who wasn't related to him his older brother just seemed… strange.

"… Is there something you need, Gai-san?" Harry asked, determined to get himself out of the embarrassing conversation as quickly as possible.

The man laughed and thumped his back a second time. "How like your brother you are!" He exclaimed, "So full of the cool, self-assurance of Youth!" His expression suddenly turned serious and he frowned at the teen, "If I heard correctly, you have the young Rock Lee on your squad."

Trying to roll his sore shoulder without making it obvious, Harry nodded. "That's right, do you know him?"

Gai nodded, "I met him once at the training grounds; his perseverance impressed me! In fact, I requested for him to be placed on my team, but the Hokage turned me down, saying he'd already found a teacher for that boy." He studied the teen seriously, "You are certainly an exceptional shinobi, Harii, but can you really give Lee-kun the direction and support that a struggling young Genin needs?"

Harry hesitated because that was something he'd wondered many times himself. Was he really ready to train even _one_ Genin in the ways of a shinobi? He doubted it, but he also knew that with Lee unable to use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, he needed another weapon. Taijutsu alone wouldn't make the boy great, but using magic he could at least advance as far as Harry had, theoretically. The teen nodded to himself; the way things stood, he was the best teacher for Lee.

"Gai-san… I appreciate your concern, but the Hokage has charged me with teaching Lee," Harry said, "And I can give him the best chance of succeeding in this world."

Gai stared at him a moment longer before nodding again and grinning. "I believe you, Harii—good luck!" He briefly gave the boy a thumbs-up and a blinding smile, then turned to Kakashi, who was walking on the far side of the hall.

"I'm sorry, my Rival, but I do not have time to accept a challenge from you today," he said boisterously, "Hokage-sama has already given me the orders for my next assignment—you understand."

Kakashi nodded sagely, "Yes, yes, you should go, Gai. Another time, perhaps."

"Of course!" Gai confirmed, flashing his rival a second thumbs-up before preceding the brothers through the door.

"Special Jounin?" Kakashi said, once he was sure his friend was out of earshot.

"Yeah," Harry said, "The Sandaime wants me to train Lee-kun as a wizard… Um, I mean a wizard-shinobi… or something. He isn't able to use his chakra ordinarily, so he needs to learn another way of serving as a shinobi."

Kakashi looked at the younger man critically, "And you can really teach him that? Like you told Gai? You're confident in your abilities?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably again and looked towards his apartment, wondering if this was one of those times Kakashi would follow him home. For once, he hoped that it wasn't. "Yeah… I guess so."

"You guess so?" Kakashi repeated, sounding unimpressed, "Harii, this is the boy's future you're talking about. You sure as hell better have a better answer than _that_."

Harry cringed. "I can teach him magic," he said, "And I can help him improve his Taijutsu. I can teach him what I know of using them together… I'm just not sure my techniques are effective enough. I've always only relied on magic pretty much as a last resort. I mean, I've been developing it more recently, because having something no one else understands is always useful, but I've always relied on Ninjutsu more than _magic_. If I had more time to develop a technique…"

Kakashi was silent for a long time. Harry stopped outside his apartment building and looked up at the older man's blank face, wondering if he was going to say any more or if he was leaving their conversation on such a poor note. But Kakashi didn't move to leave, so Harry waited.

At last the older Hatake nodded, and his eye met Harry's with a cold seriousness that Harry only occasionally saw anymore. It was like a rare glimpse at the genius shinobi as he truly was, rather than the cheerful façade he'd nearly perfected.

"If you're going to train this boy, you're going to train him to be the best damn shinobi a wizard can be," he said seriously, "Once a week, work in a training session with me or Tenzou to further develop your techniques for using magic against shinobi. If he's anything like you were, it'll take a while before he's able to use spells effectively enough to use them during battle, so we have some time, but you shouldn't have doubts about your technique when you teach it to him."

Harry nodded his understanding, hoping his cheeks weren't as red as they felt. He was glad Kakashi would help him, but it was embarrassing to _need_ help from his older brother when he was a _Jounin_ already.

Kakashi nodded once, but still didn't move.

Harry shifted uncomfortably before finally saying, "I should probably go… um, I have to decide how to start our training tomorrow…"

Kakashi nodded again and turned to lead the way into Harry's apartment building. Bewildered, Harry hurried after him.

"Niisan," the teen called helplessly.

"What are we having for dinner?" Kakashi asked, smiling back at him.

"We?" Harry repeated, "I don't—"

"Come on, with all the help I just offered, you aren't going to show me even a little bit of gratitude?" Kakashi asked him with disappointment before innocently adding, "I hope it has beef."

Harry sighed in exasperation, "Alright, alright… but we're having pork because I don't have any beef right now."

"What kind of a Hatake are you?" Kakashi groused, but despite his complaint, let himself into his brother's apartment.

"The kind that needs to go to the store," Harry said, shutting the door and heading to the kitchen. He doubted he'd get rid of his brother until he'd fed him… besides, the older Jounin might be useful to bounce some training ideas off of, if he was serious about helping out.


	3. Becoming

**Extending the Boundaries**

_R. Winters_

Thank you for your reviews-it's definitely encouraging to see so many people reading this already. Of course, it means I work harder to get every chapter out, even with everything else I have going on. I was definitely expecting to be able to post this one earlier, but my DET was extended... and extended... and extended... so it took forever for me to get home. The next chapter, I can't say for sure, but it will probably take another month or so between everything else that's being piled on top of me. Thanks for bearing with me, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

I apologize ahead of time if it seems a little more disjointed than usual. The entire chapter pretty much covers several months, and I tried to show it as well as I could with how Lee progresses in his training... just a few things I felt needed to be shown before the real plot-balls start rolling (although, of course, they've really already started).

Chapter 3 - Becoming

The stone sparked and sizzled, rattling about in its place. Lee's eyes widened slowly in surprise and horror, his wand trembling in his outstretched hand.

Abruptly, the stone stilled again. Somewhere in the branches above them, a bird whistled, completely unperturbed by the shinobi below. Harry sighed and Lee cringed at the sound, looking up at his teacher cautiously.

"I am sorry, Harii-sensei," the boy apologized, dropping his head and allowing his hand to fall limply to his side, wand held in loose fingers. "You have been patient with me, but I just cannot do it." His empty hand curled into a fist, "Perhaps I am not a wizard like you are, after all."

Harry sighed again and ran a hand tiredly through his haphazard white hair. "No, Lee-kun… listen. You wouldn't have gotten that wand if you weren't a wizard," he explained wearily, "It doesn't work that way, it—"

Lee thrust the wand towards him, tears brimming in his wide dark eyes. "Take it!" He beseeched, "Maybe—maybe it was a mistake, Harii-sensei! Maybe—maybe the other children were correct. Maybe I will never become a good shinobi. You are simply wasting your time on me, sensei."

Harry looked at the boy steadily for several long seconds without saying a word. Then, with a small shake of his head, he took the wand, twisting it through his fingers as the miserable eleven-year-old watched.

"Do you want to be a wizard, Lee-kun?" Harry asked at length.

Lee rubbed at the tears in his eyes and nodded once, emphatically. "Of course I do! Harii-sensei, you can do such amazing things with your wand! But… I am only a failure at everything, no matter how hard I try. There is nothing special about me, like you thought."

Harry silently contemplated his words, the wand never pausing in his nimble fingers. "Did you know that I never wanted to be one? A wizard?" He asked, looking the boy straight in the eye, the intensity of his green eyes refusing to allow the Genin to break the lock. "When I was very young… wizards killed my family—the aunt, uncle and cousin I lived with. I was… traumatized, but it was because of that that I came to be here, and was given the chance to know my brother and become a shinobi."

"I hated magic, at first, but when a certain time came… a few years ago, I was put in a position where I had to learn to use it, to save myself and my brother and reclaim my place here in the village. I… _tried_ so hard," he added, meaningfully.

Lee sniffed and finally managed to tear his eyes away, looking down shamefully.

"And, perhaps because I was trying so hard, I just couldn't do it."

Lee blinked, looking up in surprise. "Huh? But, Harii-sensei, you…"

Harry shook his head, frowning. "I couldn't do it right away either, Lee-kun. I couldn't do it no matter how hard I tried, until my teacher explained it to me. Magic isn't something we have to force, Lee-kun. It's enough just to want to do it—it will come… almost by itself."

"When you accidently did magic before, you didn't have to _try_ to do it; you didn't even know you could. You only knew you needed to do _something_, and it happened by itself," Harry concluded, looking down at Lee again, "Understand?"

The teen blinked, surprised, to see that Lee had pulled out a small pad of paper and a pencil, and was scribbling furiously. His brow furrowed, "Lee-kun?"

Lee looked up and nodded. "Do not try to force it, it will come by itself," he repeated enthusiastically, "Sensei, may I try again?"

Smirking, Harry held out the wand again.

Lee took it and turned, facing the small stone his teacher had placed on a tree stump at the beginning of the lesson—three days ago.

"Do not try to force it," he murmured to himself, stretching out his wand, the tip level with the rock. "It will come by itself."

Lee waited half a beat before swishing the wand in the precise flicking motion his teacher had shown him. "Wingardium Leviosa."

The stone shot straight into the air with a ruckus of shaking leaves and the angry cry of a startled bird. Lee turned, grinning, towards his teacher and Harry stared at the empty tree stump in shock.

"Yatta! I did it, Harii-sensei, I did it!" The boy cheered enthusiastically.

Slowly, Harry's eyes shifted to the Genin and a small smile crept onto his own lips, a sudden and unexpected rush of pride filling him as he looked at his student.

"That was… great, Lee-kun," he said faintly.

Somehow, Lee's grin spread even further. "Yatta!" He cried again, spinning to face the stump, hands raised victoriously, "I really did it!"

Harry wondered, absently, if this was how all teachers felt—the first time their students hit the mark with a kunai, or managed their first sloppy henge. He wondered if they felt this rush of pride, this selfish desire to see this success again and again. Harry felt a sudden burst of motivation, motivation that didn't come from the Hokage or his friends or brother, to make Rock Lee into the best wizard Konoha had seen.

And, for the first time since he'd been assigned his position as the boy's teacher, Harry actually believed he could do it.

* * *

"Excluding the advantage of surprise, there were really only two factors that caused us to take as much damage as we did," Tenzou mused around a mouthful of dumplings. "First, of course, was their unexpected aerial assault, but more importantly—"

"They were invisible," Harry interjected unhappily, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "We couldn't tell where their attacks were coming from."

"And their strategy relied heavily on picking off shinobi that were previously engaged, either with the Uchiha or another one of them," Tenzou added. "It's a bit cowardly, but obviously effective."

Harry frowned, watching the other man eat for a moment and taking in the sounds of the café around them. At last, he asked, "How close do you think I'd have to be to throw something at you that you couldn't dodge, even seeing it coming?"

Swallowing, the older man smirked. "I'd never let you get that close, Harii."

"Sure," the teen scowled, "But to be fair, if you started at rest when I threw a kunai, you probably wouldn't be able to dodge it if you were… say, about five meters or less away."

Tenzou grunted unhappily, but didn't argue, stuffing another dumpling in his mouth.

"Which means my range would probably be around seven meters," Harry concluded, "Maybe a little more."

Tenzou frowned at him, "Even if I couldn't dodge from a stand still, I could still use a substitution. Besides, if we were fighting I wouldn't be stupid enough to get caught standing still. So all you're really saying is that you could assassinate an unsuspecting target from seven meters away, and that's assuming any body guards he may have don't notice you."

"All I'm saying," Harry interjected, "Is that I'd have to either be invisible or within about five meters if I was fighting you to really have a chance without using jutsu."

"Yeah, probably," Tenzou agreed.

"So I'd have to be invisible, or fast enough to get close," Harry concluded, frowning thoughtfully.

"Are you going to eat that?" Tenzou asked impatiently, pointing to the mostly untouched dumplings still sitting on Harry's plate.

"You can have it," Harry sighed.

Snatching the entire plate, Tenzou frowned across from him, "Why are you so interested in this all of a sudden?"

Harry groaned, rubbing his forehead with one hand, "I have to find a way to make Lee-kun invisible."

Tenzou laughed. "Harii, that boy is so noisy, he couldn't even win a game of hide and seek!"

Harry glared.

"Harii-kun, Tenzou-kun, what a surprise! By what fortuitous chance should I meet the two of you here, my Youthful Friends?" At the sound of his voice, Harry's glare shifted targets, pinning itself on Gai. The man seemed completely unaffected—Harry supposed it was from dealing with Kakashi's glares for so long.

Tenzou turned and looked as well. He smiled, "It's hardly chance when you've been listening in, Gai-san."

The man had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. "I'm afraid I _did_ overhear a thing or two," he admitted bashfully, then brightened again. "But however inadvertent my eavesdropping may have been, it seems like it was for the better. Harii, if I understand correctly, you need a way to make your Youthful Student invisible?"

Harry frowned, nodding warily. "Lee-kun has a lot of drive and a lot of heart, but he's noisy and a little clumsy. Smoke bombs can only conceal so much and they aren't very useful for attacks from someone who can't see through the smoke. But what do you know about invisibility, Gai-san?"

The man grinned almost blindingly, extending his arm in a thumbs-up. "Simple," he responded boldly. Then Gai disappeared.

Harry blinked in surprise.

"Impressive, no?" The man asked behind the two younger shinobi.

Tenzou turned to scowl at him, "It's not impressive if you just move really fast like that."

Harry mirrored his friend's expression. "I already thought of that anyway," he added, "But Lee-kun can't use chakra, so it's impossible for him to move as fast as the rest of us."

Gai's grin remained firmly in place, "Ah, the Misconceptions of Youth. I used no chakra just then."

Harry frowned, "That's—"

"He's telling the truth, Harii," Tenzou interrupted with a small, confused frown. "You and I would have noticed if he'd used chakra for that in a place like this."

Harry hesitated, looking up at the man measuringly. "You can move that fast without using any chakra?"

The man beamed. "For years, ever since I was a child, I have trained my body harder than any of the Youthful Shinobi within our village's Glorious Gates. When I was a boy, I did not have the natural talent with Ninjutsu that many of my peers seemed to have, and I trained my body harder because of it. Eventually I was able to master all three of the Ninja Arts through Hard Work and Perseverance. I have seen these same traits in Young Lee-kun, and I believe the techniques that so helped me may also be a valuable asset for him."

Harry frowned. He was wary of accepting help from Maito Gai. Not only was the man's personality more than a little off-setting, but he knew that from the beginning, Gai had wanted Lee as his own student. Harry had admittedly been reluctant to accepting the position at first, but he was glad that he had. He didn't want Gai—or anyone else—to take that away from him.

Still, if Gai knew the secret to moving like _that_ even without using chakra, Harry needed to find out what it was. It was his duty to train Lee to become the best shinobi he could be. And Lee needed this.

Finally, Harry nodded. "As much as I don't like it… I need your help, Gai-san. What's your secret?"

Gai laughed, "I was hoping you would accept my offer, Harii-kun. Your willingness to accept help shows that you really are worthy to teach that boy."

"And the secret?" Tenzou prompted.

The man laughed again, "It is no secret, Tenzou-kun! The technique that I use is a very old one. So old, in fact, that many Proud Shinobi have perhaps forgotten it, or overlooked it in light of more modern techniques." Without explaining further, the man bent over, removing one of his orange leg warmers from his calf by unfastening it in the back. He straightened and deposited it into Harry's hands.

The teen almost dropped it in surprise before firmly adjusting his grip with both hands. "This-!" He gasped, surprised.

Gai grinned. "That is my secret, Harii-kun. Ever since I was young, I have added increasingly heavy weights to my limbs. I then adjust the amount of weight I carry as is appropriate for the needs of the mission I must execute. Normally, they are even heavier than these, but I returned to Konoha only a short while ago and stopped here for something to eat on my way home. That is why I am able to move so fast with such little effort."

Harry stared from the weights to the man. "If you can move that fast with even this much weight, then without any…"

"Last month I clocked my laps around the village wall at nine minutes," the man supplied.

"This… if you don't mind, Gai-san, this is what Lee-kun needs!" Harry decided.

The man nodded and took the weights back, placing them back on his leg. He looked up with a serious frown, "However, this technique can be dangerous if it is used improperly. With your permission, Harii, I will teach it to both you and Lee-kun."

Harry had to agree, but he had one last complaint. He pointed at Gai's legwarmers and added, "I can deal with that, but nothing orange."

Tenzou laughed at Gai's confused expression.

* * *

"We're going to do something a little different today," Harry told Lee. He'd told Gai that they would meet a half an hour after the time he'd told Lee the day before, so that he could warn the boy ahead of time.

Lee blinked, frowning in confusion. "What…?"

He didn't finish his question, because at that moment Gai arrived, bursting into the training field with all his usual flare. "Ah, Harii-kun, Lee-kun! I see the Enthusiasm of Youth has spurred both of you to arrive early, as well! How fortunate that I have also come early, so we can begin our passionate training that much earlier!"

Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, Harry explained briefly, "Gai-san is going to help with a different kind of training—just for a day or two."

Lee still looked confused, and Harry hoped the boy wouldn't hate him too much when all of this was over.

* * *

For an instant, his vision was black, and the next thing he saw was a fire.

It was a small, modest flame like that of a hunting fire, but if felt entirely wrong. Harry's eyes dropped to the fuel and he instantly understood why. The flames were devouring human bones instead of wood, blackening the white fragments as quickly as a log would char. His vision expanded, and his green eyes widened in horror.

He was in the middle of a graveyard. The bones, he suspected, had been stolen from upturned graves. A chilly thrill of fear leapt through his veins, but Harry could not seem to work up the strength—or the will—to move.

Black, shadowy shapes moved through the darkness between the headstones, staying just clear of the light issuing form the Hellish fire.

"One human life, taken in hate."

The voice made Harry's skin crawl.

"That is all it takes to make a man immortal."

A tall, dark figure stepped between Harry and the fire, the glow from behind him making his features impossible to make out. An arm rose and Harry saw the glint of a steel blade, curved and wicked. The firelight glinted off the cool gray metal, red like blood.

The teen woke with a start, breathing heavy. He sank back on his pillow with a groan, covering his eyes. He could still picture the blade and the shadowed graveyard clearly in his mind's eye—as clearly as though he had been there and not only dreamed of the place.

With frustration, he finally threw his blankets aside, glancing at the clock as he did. Harry cringed at the time; it was too early to be awake. But he was getting used to early waking anyway—at least, that's what he told himself.

* * *

"Keep up, Lee!" Harry called over his shoulder as he led the way deeper into the forest. The boy struggled to catch up, his face shining red from the effort.

"I am sorry, sensei," he huffed, "I will do better."

Harry frowned at the straggling boy and stopped abruptly. Lee finally caught up to him, sighing with relief.

Once he had regained his breath, Lee looked up, "Why have we stopped, Harii-sensei?"

Harry looked at the boy flatly and held out a hand.

Lee groaned, but obeyed the unspoken command. He bent to remove first the black set of weights from around his left leg, then his right, depositing the two ankle weights into his teacher's waiting hand.

"I can do it, sensei," he grumbled in a weak protest.

"If you're falling behind like that, you obviously can't," Harry pointed out coolly, "We weren't even going that fast, Lee."

The Genin looked down guiltily as his teacher measured the weights in his hand carefully before opening and reaching inside. He removed one of the metal weights inside and sighed.

"What did Gai-san tell you about using this method, Lee-kun?" He asked tiredly.

"… To increase the weight slowly…" The boy supplied reluctantly.

"We added a pound at the beginning of the week, didn't we? What else did he tell you?" Harry demanded.

"… To not add more weight until my body adjusted to the current weight," Lee said grudgingly. Quickly, he added, "But Harii-sensei, only adding one pound each was not enough!"

"Lee…" Harry sighed, removing the additional weight from the other as well. "The point is to build up your speed and endurance slowly over time," he explained, "It's not something that's possible just overnight. If you add too much weight too quickly, you won't be able to complete the duties that you have for now, and your training will be slowed as well."

"… I understand, Harii-sensei," Lee agreed unhappily.

Harry handed the ankle weights back to the boy, frowning. "If you understand, then do it. If you add so much weight like that again, I'll have to start testing it before every mission, and neither of us will be happy."

"… Yes, sensei," the boy agreed.

"Good. Then let's find that dog and get it back to its owner," Harry said, "After that we can get back to training. I have a new spell to teach you today, if you think you're ready for it."

The Genin perked up immediately. "I'm ready!" He declared enthusiastically, straightening from adjusting his ankle weights. "Let's find the dog quickly, Harii-sensei!"

* * *

"Compared to other styles, there's a lot of back-time to the enemy," Harry explained, "You need time to draw your wand and prepare your spell before you throw it at them. But you need to be quick; you can't let yourself lose awareness of their position."

"The best way, is to use a little bit of magic," the teen continued, twirling his wand between his fingers. "You want to use it to compel the wand into your hand even as you reach for it, that way it gets there twice as fast."

Switching the wand to his other hand, Harry held it out, flat on his palm. He demonstrated, reaching for the wand with his right—it jumped off his left hand and into his right while it was still short of picking it up.

Lee stared with wide eyes, "It just moved by itself! You did not even say anything, sensei, that is amazing!"

"First I'll teach you the summoning charm," Harry said, "This one I want you to practice a lot, because it's fundamental to everything about fighting with magic. Once you have it down, you can draw objects to you and even learn to push them away. You'll be able to reach for all of your weapons faster, and eventually you'll learn to apply the concept to throwing your weapons and deflecting the weapons thrown at you."

Lee had his notepad out again, but Harry ignored it.

He gripped his wand in his hand and held it out, "The spell is _Accio_." He waved his wand in the general direction of his equipment and his canteen flew at him. The teen snatched it out of the air.

Lee already had his wand out, and was eager to replicate his teacher's display. "_Accio_!" He ordered, swishing his wand—the boy's entire bag rocketed towards him and he wasn't quite quick enough to dive out of the way, yelping as it made contact and knocked him off his feet.

Harry tried not to laugh but couldn't cover his smirk. "It'll take some trial and error for you to get the power right."

Pushing the pack off of himself, Lee clambered back to his feet, frowning. "But, sensei, you didn't even use a spell before."

Nodding, Harry explained, "The summoning charm is probably one of the easiest charms to master without a spell. Most of the magic you do accidentally is related to summoning—something will appear before you or be pushed away. It's a natural extension of your will, and you'll probably be able to summon your wand to you after just a few weeks of practicing, if it's close by."

"From there, it's just practice," the man shrugged, "The more you do it, the more natural it will feel. Eventually you won't need to be holding your wand, and you'll be able to do it without verbalizing the spell. Once you're at that point, we'll worry about summoning different objects."

The boy nodded seriously. "I understand, Harii-sensei. I will practice this spell one thousand times before our lesson tomorrow."

Harry lifted an eyebrow, "Just don't overdo it, Lee."

"Yes, sensei," Lee complied.

"Magic is closely linked to your emotions," Harry added, "If you frustrate yourself working on the same thing too much, your performance is going to deteriorate. Make sure you take some time to relax and have fun, too."

The boy's tense stance relaxed a little and he smiled at his teacher. "I will not overdo it, sensei," he promised, "I just want to see how well I can do."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Harry dismissed, "Anyway, we have some more time, so let's work on that one. I'd like your control to be a little more reliable before you try anything on your own."

"Yosh!" The boy agreed enthusiastically, obediently getting to work.

Harry watched him carefully, but he wasn't too worried.

Lee was amazing—he picked up on new spells almost twice as fast as Harry ever had. The only thing he ever seemed to have trouble with was the Latin pronunciations and pushing himself too long. Magic seemed to come to him as naturally as chakra had always come to Kakashi.

Harry felt just a little jealous, although he tried not to be. He'd always known he would never reach Kakashi's level of talent when it came to Ninjutsu, but he had been the only person in Konoha capable of controlling magic. He'd been the best.

Rock Lee was going to surpass him; he could tell that already. He had raw talent and an enthusiasm for it that Harry doubted he would ever have. One day, Harry might even be taking magic lessons from _him_.

But Lee couldn't perform even the simplest of Ninjutsu, and it did a lot to soothe any feelings of inadequacy Harry might fleetingly entertain. Kakashi couldn't perform magic, and Lee would never master his chakra. Harry was still the only person who could do both.

And if Lee did surpass him in magic, Harry reflected, it would be so much the better for him. The Hokage could get _him_ to teach all the new fledging witches and wizards, in that case.

The young man smiled as Lee ducked out of the way of a flying rock the size of his head. "You might want to try this a little more seriously, Lee-kun," he advised cheerfully. The poor kid had no idea what was in store for him.

* * *

It was as though every living thing around him was an enemy. Harry dodged a swing from a large oak, ducked under the whipping branches of an immature aspen, and hurled a curse at a thick, feisty vine, ripping the plant to shreds. Sweat soaked his clothes after a solid hour of sparring, and he was feeling a little light-headed. He would have to end this soon.

Spotting movement out of the corner of his eye, Harry took to the branches of a temperamental old beech tree, leaping from branch to branch too quickly for the tree to dump him off.

Harry didn't even see what hit him—but it felt like a truck.

"Harii!" The insistent shaking of his shoulder eventually roused the teen with a groan. Tenzou's worried face hovered over him, a little blurry around the edges. Harry blinked hard, groaning a second time.

Tenzou sat back, allowing the younger shinobi to eventually push himself upright—Harry rubbed his side gingerly, wincing a little with the movement. The older man frowned.

"What happened?"

Harry groaned again, still trying to clear his vision. "I don't know. Something hit me."

Tenzou rolled his eyes, "I _know_ that. I want to know _why_. You shouldn't have been hit, Harii, you're faster than that."

Harry shrugged and struggled to his feet, holding his side with a cringe as bolts of pain shot through him. Tenzou followed the motion, rising with him, frown firmly in place.

"Sometimes when we fight, you're even as good as me, and other times—" he gestured at the injured teen with frustration.

Harry scowled, "You mean, sometimes I'm better than you."

"I've never seen anyone else that spars as well as you do some days, fight as poorly as you other days," Tenzou said, "You didn't hit your head on a mission or something, did you?"

"Doing what? Pulling weeds?" Harry asked sarcastically. "Lee-kun's still only doing D-ranked missions, and I'm stuck with him most of the time."

"Then what is it?" Tenzou asked with exasperation.

Harry shrugged uncomfortably and started making his way back towards the training ground's entrance, where they'd left their surplus gear. "I didn't get much sleep last night," he admitted at last, "It's not a big deal."

Raising an eyebrow incredulously, Tenzou hurried after his friend. "You lose sleep _one night_ and that's what it does to you? I don't buy it, Harii. Besides, this isn't the first time you've been like this."

"I told you, it's not a big deal," Harry argued, scowling, "I'm fine. I'll _be_ fine."

Tenzou stopped his friend, grabbing him by his arm. "It _is_ a big deal if you go from fighting like a Jounin one day to fighting like a Chuunin the next!" He insisted irritably, "Tell me what's been going on, Harii!"

Harry searched his friend's worried face for a moment, then looked down. Reluctantly, he started, "It's…" he sighed, shaking his head, "It's stupid. I just haven't been sleeping much." He tried to pull away, but Tenzou refused to let go.

Harry's face reddened, with a combination of embarrassment and anger. "I've just been having some weird dreams lately. It's not a big deal."

Tenzou released him and the pair began walking again. "The _last_ time you had weird dreams, you almost got Naruto lynched, you and Kakashi were abducted, and we lost three-quarters of the Uchiha clan in a mass revolt," the older man pointed out dryly.

Harry laughed in surprise. He shook his head, "It's not like that. Before—my dreams—they were things that were really happening. Now, they're just nightmares, I guess."

"How do you know that's all it is?" Tenzou pressed, "If it's happened before, it could happen again."

"Because," Harry responded with annoyance, "Voldemort is dead. I killed him, so I know."

"… You're still having nightmares about _that_?" Tenzou asked incredulously.

"No!" Harry snapped defensively, "I haven't had nightmares like that in a long time! I told you it was stupid, anyway—they aren't even really scary like nightmares; they're just stupid."

Tenzou frowned. "Well… Maybe if you talk to someone," he started awkwardly.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm not a little kid, Tenzou. I'll figure it out. I'll be fine—just try to catch an extra nap or something."

* * *

"I've reviewed your proposal," the Hokage stated, "And if there is anything you wish to add, you may do so now."

Harry shrugged. "Not really, Sandaime-sama. Lee-kun has been working hard, and I think his training has been coming along well. He needs something more challenging to boost his confidence, though."

"I agree," the elder shinobi said after a moment. "I have a C-ranked mission for you; an escort from Takimatsu to a small village on the edge of Sand Country. The duration should be approximately a week and the risks are minimal."

Harry nodded, "Is it likely to run into trouble?"

"Some of the roads the caravan plans to take cut through rough country," the Hokage replied, "Bandits should be the most of your concern."

"Good," Harry said, "Lee needs to know that he's not the same loser that graduated from the Academy. He needs to see that he can handle himself in dangerous situations—even if it's only bandits."

The Hokage nodded. "Bring him at your usual time. I would like to see how he responds to receiving a challenge."


	4. Site Juliet

**Extending the Boundaries**

_R. Winters_

Thanks for reviewing, everyone, and welcome to the new readers! Unfortunately, I am still as busy as ever. I've just started training at a new command, so the next few weeks, at least, will be hectic. I did, however, finally manage to climb over the massive wall in my creativity that was the main reason this chapter wasn't coming out the way I wanted it to, so hopefully it will continue to flow now, and in the little free time I have, I will be able to work on it... See if I can get another chapter up before the "summer" is over (although, really, such simple defining of the seasons has little effect on me anymore). I'll keep you posted on my progress, as usual, through my profile.

Anyway, enough about me. Here is the next chapter, and I hope you enjoy it-worth the wait?

Chapter 4 – Site Juliet

When Harry and Lee arrived at the Hokate tower, not two hours later, Harry was surprised at the suddenly formal atmosphere of the shinobi on duty. No one greeted them, and they all seemed hassled about something—worried, Harry thought. The young Jounin's instincts were immediately on alert.

He led Lee into the mission assignment office and his concern rose another notch when he saw the Hokage was absent—having known that they were coming. The Sandaime did not sit in the duty office every day, but he made a point to be there in person for certain mission assignments, in order to form an early bond with young Genin.

"Harii-san," he was immediately accosted when he stepped through the door by the younger Chuunin sitting behind the desk, who almost jumped to his feet. "Hokage-sama wished to see you and your team in his office right away."

Harry frowned. "We'll go now," he assured the other shinobi, heading to the stairs followed by his confused student.

"Harii-sensei, what's going on?" Lee asked warily as they climbed the steps.

"Sometimes if the Hokage has an important mission that requires a pre-brief, he calls shinobi to his office personally," Harry supplied.

"Do we have an important mission, sensei?" Lee asked, a little nervously.

Harry didn't respond.

The Hokage was speaking with a pair of Chuunin when they entered. His expression was sober as his eyes met Harry's, and he quickly dismissed the others. They left the room quietly, leaving the smothering tension in their wake.

After several seconds, the Sandaime broke the silence. "Harrii-sensei, I realize we spoke of this earlier, but what level of confidence do you have in your student's abilities?"

Harry frowned, glancing at the nervous Genin. "I have full confidence in Lee-kun's ability to successfully complete any C-Ranked mission."

The Hokage nodded somberly. "Very well. Lee-kun, please wait outside for your sensei."

Lee looked anxiously at Harry again before he quickly nodded. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

Harry watched the Genin leave the room. Once the door closed behind the boy, he turned back to the Hokage, frowning. "Something's come up?"

The Sandaime nodded grimly. "I assume you remember Uchiha Minichi?"

"Of course," Harry replied quickly, "We were teammates for over a year—until he was reassigned." Minichi had been distant ever since he'd joined ANBU, and Harry hadn't seen much of him over the last three years.

"Minichi-san has gone missing on his latest mission."

Harry's frown deepened, "He was killed?"

"No," the Sandaime answered, folding his hands on his desk. "He successfully completed his mission—his client submitted payment this morning. He has not been heard from since."

"It shouldn't have been for money…?" He couldn't recall the number under Minichi's name in the Bingo book, but he knew it wasn't large; certainly not worth the fight. "Where was he last seen?"

"His mission took him near the Northern border. We suspect he disappeared in the vicinity of Rice Patty Country." Sarutobi replied, "Unfortunately, our reconnaissance teams are otherwise employed at the moment."

Harry frowned, "If Minichi was killed, there could be dangerous activity in that part of the country."

"I want you to go in as a forward surveillance." The Hokage said sternly, "If you feel it is appropriate, take Lee-kun with you. However, if something really has happened to Minichi-san, you are not to engage hostiles if you are able to avoid it. You should be relieved within sixty hours."

Harry considered. Either way, if someone had really taken out Uchiha Minichi, it probably wasn't someone he wanted to engage by himself. And it would be an excellent opportunity for Lee to see what went on in a real mission, outside the village.

"If those are the orders, I'll take Lee with me, Hokage-sama," Harry decided.

The Sandaime nodded. "Very well. These are the details of Minichi's mission."

Harry accepted the scroll from the elder man.

"Good luck, Harii," Sarutobi said soberly, "Don't do anything stupid."

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Harry agreed, rolling his eyes. The elder man dismissed him and Harry slipped back out the door.

"Lee," the Jounin said as he passed by the boy just outside.

Lee hurried to keep pace with him, "Yes, Harii-sensei?"

"Go home and pack for a trip," Harry ordered, "Make it light and make it quick. I'll be at the village gates. If you aren't there within thirty minutes, I'm leaving without you."

The boy's eyes widened, clearly impressed by the importance of his teacher's demand. "I'll be there in half that time, sensei!" He promised quickly before running off.

Harry stared after him for a moment before forming a quick hand seal and disappearing.

* * *

Lee trotted up to him barely twenty minutes later, wearing a respectfully full black backpack. He was a little breathless as he shouted, "I am ready, sensei!"

Harry would have smiled if he could, but he was still brooding over the details of their mission. He'd read over the finer points of Minichi's mission, and couldn't find anything that might have been meant as a trap. It didn't make any sense.

Still, he took the time to stop his student—the boy's eyes were confused as Harry reached around to pull up on his pack, measuring the weight.

"I only packed what is really necessary," Lee assured him quickly.

Harry nodded and released the Genin. "Good. Did you take a weight out already?" He glanced down at the boy's ankle-weights.

Lee grinned and nodded, "Of course, sensei! You said to be quick, so I took some out of each. I won't slow you down, Harii-sensei."

Harry nodded again—he almost smiled. "Let's go."

* * *

The trees in Rice Patty Country were mostly small, scraggly things, but the occasional large oak dotted the country side, becoming more prevalent the further North they went. The earth was soft and fertile, and in some places downright swampy, and the bushes and wild plant life was rampant—easily the height of Harry's shoulders and then some, and well over Lee's head. Not quite tall enough to provide any relief from the summer sun.

The evening of their second day was wearing long, and the heat finally dissipating as the sun drooped, the oak trees casting mile-long shadows across the undergrowth. They had less than an hour before complete darkness set in, and they wouldn't get anything done overnight.

Harry keyed the speaker on his earpiece. "That's enough for tonight, Lee. Mark your break-off and rendezvous at site Juliet."

He could practically hear the boy's sharp salute as the static gave way to a crisp: "Understood, sensei. Heading to Juliet."

Pulling out his own map, Harry marked off another square of the grid as cleared and hesitated only a moment before stashing it again to turn north, heading for their pre-briefed rendezvous point.

Site J was near the Claw boarder, just a little to the north of the area the two shinobi had spent the day exploring. Lee was already there, preparing a small cooking fire near the edge of a clove of tall, twisted oaks at their campsite.

"Anything?" Harry asked as he slipped his wand from its bracer. He already knew what the answer would be, since his student was under strict orders to report anything unusual to him immediately, but he asked, anyway.

The boy shook his head before striking a piece of steel against a flint bar firmly enough to send a spark leaping into the kindling he'd gathered for the fire. "Not a thing, sensei."

Harry raised his wand over his head, giving the tip a few sharp flicks—nothing appeared to happen and he put the wand away again, moving to join Lee. Harry pulled out his map and Lee followed the example, scrambling for his own map as the fire slowly took root.

"Hokage-sama's SAR team should arrive sometime tomorrow," Harry said out loud, smoothing out the map to the area they had yet to cover. "I'm going to tell them to meet us here, before dark." Harry jabbed at the paper then uncapped a pen, marking the spot with an _O_. He looked at Lee expectantly, and the boy copied him again, marking the spot on his own map.

"Throughout the day, our checkpoints will be here, here, here, and here," Harry made additional markings as he spoke, labeling the intermediate points _K_ through _N_. Lee copied him, looking at the two maps carefully to be sure he got the right locations.

When he was done, Lee flattened out his map a little more neatly and nodded firmly. "Tomorrow we will search further north," he briefed, "We will rendezvous at points _Kilo_, _Lima_, _Mike_, and _November_, before mustering at _Oscar_ at sunset to be relieved." He hesitated and looked questioningly at the Jounin, "Is that right, Harri-sensei?"

Harry nodded. "That's fine. Also, you should add that the procedures will be the same as yesterday and today, but we aren't going to be briefing them again now. You can remind me of them in the morning."

Lee nodded. "Yes, sensei."

Suddenly, a dark, black shape dove towards them through the twilight, a dull, nearly inaudible thumping the only warning of its approach. Neither shinobi appeared surprised, and the dark owl perched itself on Harry's shoulder, its sharp talons kneading into his flesh.

Harry ignored it and pulled out another sheet of paper. He scribbled down his quick instructions and folded the paper three times, scrawling the Sandaime's name on the outside before tying the note to the owl's leg. It hooted unhappily and Harry rolled his eyes, frowning back at it.

"There's no use throwing a fit, Kuroi," he told it sternly, "I'm not giving you anything. I'm on a mission. Besides, you're an owl, you're supposed to catch your own food. If you're quick about the message, maybe they'll give you something in the falconry."

The owl—whose real name was Artemis, but Harry called _Black_ as it had been a gift from his godfather, Sirius Black—hooted again and gave his ear a viscious nip before taking off again.

Harry swore, swatting at the bird, but Artemis had learned to fly fast, and was already out of his reach, disappearing into the darkening sky. Grumbling, Harry rubbed at his ear and swore a second time when he felt blood.

"Stupid owl," he growled. The bird was useful and terribly intelligent, but Harry had never been able to determine whether Sirius had given it to him in a legitimate attempt at being nice or just as another way to torment him.

Beside him, Lee barely stifled a laugh, schooling his face quickly to seriousness when his teacher shot him a glare. Quickly interrupting before Harry could snap at him, Lee asked, "Harii-sensei, how is it that you can summon Artemis without a scroll?" He had met the man's bird the night before, but had been too exhausted after a long day and little sleep the night before to ask about it.

Harry rubbed at his ear a little longer before giving up on it—the blood dripping along the contours tickled in the most annoying way. "He isn't a summon, just a regular owl." His frown deepened a little and he corrected, "Well, not a _regular_ owl, obviously. He was bred and raised by wizards, so I suppose he's got some magic in his blood. The spell to summon him is _Accios_, and works similarly to _Accio_, from what I understand. It compels him to come to me wherever I am."

"_Accios_," Lee repeated dutifully, quickly pulling out his notebook to write the word down.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Let's get some water boiling," he instructed, "The sooner we eat, the sooner you can get to bed. Tomorrow's going to be another long day."

Lee frowned at him, tucking the notebook away again. "Sensei, don't you want me to stand watch for part of the night tonight?"

Harry shrugged. "It's fine," he dismissed, "You need the sleep more than I do. I don't want you passing out again like yesterday."

The boy flushed and quickly set about to fulfilling his orders, eager to let the subject drop. He rummaged in his bag for the collapsible pan they would boil their water in and set to work.

Harry stared at the little fire absently in thought. Even if he did make Lee stand watch, like the first night, there was little point to it—besides giving the Genin a taste of what was to come for him. Harry wouldn't be getting much sleep even if he tried, and he wasn't particularly inclined to risk facing his nightmares here on the field. If they took a turn for the worst, he might accidentally draw the enemy right to them—whoever it was.

* * *

It was after midnight, in the earliest hours of the morning and the darkest part of the night. Harry leaned against one of the oaks, his attention wandering as he stared vacantly across at Lee's sleeping form. The boy snored softly, but was otherwise a remarkably quiet sleeper, with no excess movement or noises to speak of—it was a stark contrast to the tossing and yelling Harry was doing in his sleep more often than not these days.

Harry was considering getting up and making another quick circuit of the area, just to get his blood moving again, but it seemed like too much work and he was _tired_. The Jounin stifled a yawn and forced his eyes to at least move, scanning the shadows around them.

Lee's rhythmic breathing was tempting him towards sleep, coupled with the fact that despite Minichi's apparent disappearance, they had yet to run into anything more dangerous than a crabby farm hand on the rice fields.

The sound was so soft that Harry normally wouldn't have noticed it, but at night everything was rhythmic, from the chirping hicaidas to the rustling wind and his student's quiet breathing. One sound abruptly broke out of that rhythm and Harry's senses immediately went on the alert, searching.

And then he heard it again, more clearly, and his heart picked up its pace in his chest. It was a voice; soft and hoarse, with an almost hissing-like quality to it, but perfectly clear.

"_Blood—humans—intruders—"_

Harry self consciously put a hand to his right ear. The blood was old and dry, and he'd forgotten about it until just now. With his other hand, he pulled out a kunai as quietly as he could, and eased himself to his feet silently, eyes straining at the darkness.

"_Blood—intruders—humans—"_

It was still quiet, but definitely closer, and whoever was coming towards them was both swift and silent. Other than the whispery words, Harry couldn't tell where he was. There was no sound of footsteps or anything to give away his location.

"_Intruders—human intruders—"_

Harry jumped with surprise because the voice was right next to him. He whirled around, searching, but there was nothing. His heart thudded rapidly in his chest and his eyes were wide, breathing harsh—this had to be a dream because as much as he searched, no one was there!

"Who's here?" He demanded, barely keeping the presence of mind to keep his voice down so as not to alarm Lee.

A long, hissing breath answered him, and Harry's eyes snapped in the direction of its source. Was he making himself invisible somehow?

"_The human speaks—master will want to know—"_

Harry felt vaguely sick, because there was something very wrong with this, and then he caught a flash of movement—something glistening on the ground among the grass and weeds. Instinctively, he threw his kunai, but the shining shape was already slithering away.

The Jounin cast a glance back at his student's sleeping form and took off after the creature, sliding his wand into his hand as he went.

"_Lumos_," he hissed quietly, forgoing stealth for the aid of a small, shining red light at the tip of his wand. Panning it in front of him, he caught another glimpse of movement and he raced after his quarry, trying to get it firmly in his sight.

He closed the distance between them quickly and abruptly the long weeds he'd been wading through all day faded as they broke into a clearing. The light shone in a clear circle onto the thing he'd been chasing—a long, dark colored snake.

The snake reared up and rounded on him suddenly, slitted eyes flashing in the red light and fangs opening wide. Harry jerked back just quickly enough to avoid being bitten.

"_Intruders!"_ He heard, but looking again he only caught sight of the reptile's retreating tail.

"Wait!" He called out haphazardly, and took off in pursuit again. He only ran a few feet, flashing his light around desperately, before he realized he'd lost the snake.

Harry searched the clearing for several minutes, looking closely at the grass for any sign of the snake's passing, and flashing the light around in a futile hope that maybe he'd get lucky and catch sight of it again. But it was gone without a trace.

Feeling uneasy, Harry turned back to where he'd left Lee.

Hatake Harry had spoken to snakes before, and while he was a little surprised to be doing so again, it wasn't as startling as it had been the first time it had happened. At the time, everyone had thought it was an uncontrolled bout of magic he'd used to help his newfound friend, Tenzou, but Harry had pretty much grown out of accidental magic, and even if he hadn't, accidents like that only occurred in emotionally heated situations; he had been half asleep when he heard it first—it didn't make any sense.

Still not entirely sure that he wasn't asleep, Harry made up his mind. When he got back to their campsite he paused briefly to collect their things, and then crossed to Lee, shaking the sleeping boy gently.

"Lee-kun," his voice was a whisper, easing the boy out of his dreams. If the snake was really reporting them to someone, they couldn't stay here. In the morning, when they could see, he would look around, but in the meantime, Lee's safety was his top priority. "Lee-kun, you need to wake up now."

"Mm—sensei…?" The boy slurred tiredly, heavy eyelids blinking open and a confused frown settled across his features. He rubbed at his face. "What is going on? What time is it, Harii-sensei?"

"Don't speak for now," Harry directed, "We need to move. Get your bag and follow me."

Wide eyes still blurry with sleep, Lee nodded and scrambled to obey, sloppily stuffing his sleeping mat in its bag, and packing the last few things in his pack. The Jounin led the way, quickly and quietly through the night—away from the snake and whoever it was reporting to.

* * *

Lee approached his teacher cautiously the next morning. He'd already stowed his gear and the sky was just beginning to lighten with the sun. The Jounin was obviously brooding, eyes distant, back slouched, and he didn't so much as look up when the boy spoke to him.

"Harii-sensei… do you still want me to brief standard procedures…?" Lee asked tentatively.

For a long time, Harry didn't reply—he didn't even look as though he had heard. At last, the man shifted, although his eyes were still focused somewhere far away. "No… that won't be necessary today, Lee. We're going to be doing things a little bit differently."

Silently, Lee nodded, and settled on the ground next to his teacher, waiting for an explanation.

Harry sat silently for a few minutes longer, brooding over the same problem he'd been thinking on since they'd moved camp late in the night.

The Hokage's orders strictly forbade him from putting himself and his student in harm's way, but they had also been ordered to investigate unusual occurrences. The snake from last night had been extremely unusual, and Harry's gut told him it was going to get dangerous if he followed this lead.

Which gave him three options. Harry could ignore it and report his suspicions to the search team arriving later that day—if they came on time and whoever was out there hadn't moved already. He could investigate and leave Lee to continue with the normal search pattern, keeping the boy well clear of would-be trouble, but also ensuring that the range of their radios would be exceeded and the Genin would be on his own out there. Or he could take Lee with him while he took a closer look at things.

Harry sighed and shifted, finally looking at his student. Lee still looked tired, but it couldn't be helped since he'd been up half the night moving camp.

"We're going to be investigating, following a lead to the northeast today," he explained, "We'll be operating under radio silence, and you'll be following me from seven meters away. Keep me in view as well as you can, but if anything happens, I want you to run. You need to meet the SAR team at site Oscar and point them in the right direction if we run into trouble—I'll meet you there when I'm able to, assuming I'm not followed."

Lee nodded his understanding—Harry continued.

"We're acting under the assumption that we will run into trouble today. If you see or hear anything, or if you get into trouble yourself, you will immediately break radio silence. I will come to your aid, and you will escape at the first opportunity." Harry looked at the boy flatly, "I know it sounds like running away, but our primary mission here is to point the rescue team in the right direction. Uchiha Minichi was a talented shinobi, and if he's been captured or killed by these people, I don't need to be worried about protecting you."

Narrowing his eyes at the Genin, he impressed again, "Do you understand, Lee? If something happens you _have_ to run, and you _have_ to meet the team at site Oscar."

Grimly, Lee nodded again. "I understand, sensei."

"Good, then get your things," Harry directed. "Take a few minutes to study the map, you won't be able to look at it while we're moving."


	5. Thicker Blood

Extending the Boundaries

_R. Winters_

Happy New Year! As always, this is up way later than I meant to have it ready by. I probably shouldn't even say anything about when I plan to update, to keep you from getting your hopes up. I know it's gotta be frustrating, though (because it's frustrating enough for me), and I'll try to get things up a little faster. Anyway, I'd love to hear what you think about the new chapter, or at least some indication that I haven't completely lost your interest in the excruciatingly slow updates of the last year.

Chapter 5 – Thicker Blood

It was the peak of arrogance. The trees and shrubbery broke away at the edge of a clearing, a slow downward slope lead to a pair of sturdy looking doors set into the ground.

There was no wall, no guard that they had yet come across. Someone was so confident that they hadn't bothered displaying any sort of protection. If he'd run across this place without hearing that snake last night, he'd probably be down there investigating already.

Harry slipped his wand out, glancing around quickly to ensure their surroundings hadn't changed—they were still alone, Lee crouched by his side in the thick, thistled bushes. It was quiet.

With a small swish, and a minute flick, Harry whispered "_Inveni_." The tip of his wand glowed—first red, then green, and Harry felt it turn slightly in his hand until the tip was pointed directly at the double doors, and the earth behind them.

Lee shifted at his side, clearly wanting to say something. Harry slipped his wand away again, feeling even more tense. Hopefully no one had seen the light, but there hadn't been another option—he needed to be sure.

Minichi was still alive. He was nearby, behind those doors somewhere. Harry wasn't quite sure whether to be thrilled at the discovery or terrified.

One of their ANBU had been taken alive, and kept alive. It was likely he'd been tortured, and an injured man would be much more difficult to return to Konoha than a dead one. And Minichi didn't have much to look forward to upon his homecoming, either—he'd be nursed back to some form of health and left in the hands of interrogators, so they could determine what, if any, information he had given up.

At least if he was dead it would be over.

Harry fought an inner war against himself, struggling with the options remaining. At last, he shook his head, shrinking back into the bushes a little. They'd been ordered not to interfere, and it would be suicidal to get himself trapped under there alone. There was no question that he couldn't take Lee down there. He was equally certain that there was no way he could leave a friend and comrade in need.

"Lee, I need you to go to the rendezvous point now," Harry whispered, his voice just carrying to the young boy beside him.

Lee frowned, the protest immediately forming. "But, sensei—" he started, his whisper carrying a little farther than his teacher's.

Harry shook his head to interrupt and when his student went quiet he continued. "As much as I'd love to have you watching my back down there, it's more important for you to bring the others back here. If we do find Minichi, or the people who took him, we'll need backup, or all three of us will be dead."

Lee clearly wanted to argue further. Harry saw his jaw muscles working to hold back his words. At last, tight-lipped, the boy nodded. He shifted into a somewhat more upright crouch—leaning slightly forward on the balls of his feet so he could pick his way back through the undergrowth. That's when they appeared.

Lee froze and Harry already had a kunai drawn, long engrained instincts drawing his fingers to the weapons. Four figures in baggy, off-white garments had flickered into existence all around them, black boots, gloves, and head masks preventing everything but the malevolent gleam in their eyes from being seen.

"Lee, run!" Harry barked out, forming a quick series of hand seals.

Before he could finish the string and complete the jutsu, he was forced to bring his kunai up to block the long sword of the nearest white-cloaked shinobi, just barely preventing it from taking a knick out of his face—or a head off of his shoulders. Harry threw himself backwards, spinning to meet another attacker.

Adrenaline coursed through his bloodstream and blood rushed loudly in his ears. The enemy shinobi were fixed with a sharp clarity while the meager woods around them faded into the background.

Harry ducked under the barbed chain that was swung at him, the barbs black and glistening with wetness, he threw a pair of kunai across at the third shinobi, and pushing off of the ground with one hand, swept his legs around at his attackers.

The white-clad shinobi leaped out of the way, twisting through the air to come at him again, this time holding either end of the length of chain and pulling it tight between his hands. Harry was distracted enough that he almost didn't see the second shinobi slashing up at him with his sword, but a quick substitution jutsu carried him safely out of range of the attack.

Harry was breathing heavily, more from the unexpected rush of action than from the actual physical exertion in and of itself, and he took an instant to take in the breadth of the battlefield, the locations of each of his attackers.

Harry cursed when he saw the fourth shinobi had knocked Lee off of his feet and was closing in on the rattled boy.

The teen took off after him immediately, and intercepted the shinobi's jagged black knife with his own kunai. The other three had already located him again, and were quickly moving to back up their comrade. Harry felt a rush of desperation wash through him.

Suddenly, Harry felt a new appreciation for every shinobi who had ever been a teacher and had to protect their students while facing the enemy. It wasn't as easy as they made it look.

"Harii-sensei!" Lee yelped in alarm.

"Go!" Harry ordered again, knowing full well that the direction was easier given than followed.

Lee rushed to his feet and took off running, but two of the shinobi took after him immediately.

Releasing a noise of frustration, Harry gathered his strength and pushed the white-clad shinobi away from him, managing to draw blood from a scratch in the process. The shinobi flew across the clearing, but regained his footing quickly—Harry was already dealing with the other.

The chain was constantly moving, rotating like a shield in front of the man until he struck out with it. Harry dodged, blocked, and searched for his hole—Lee cried out again behind him, but the Jounin didn't have the time to respond. Ducking under another slash of the chain, the teen suddenly propelled himself forward. He felt a sting of pain in his arm, but it was nothing compared to the grunt of pain the shinobi let out, and the wave of blood washing down Harry's hands.

He released the two kunai immersed in the man's stomach and pulled back in time to avoid taking a kunai to the head as it sailed straight through the injured man's skull and towards his own. Harry jumped out of the way of a second and a third, and then the man was on top of him.

The bigger man had a longer reach, and took full advantage of it, slashing at the teen, but Harry was quick, and pulled out of the way, reaching for another kunai. Instead, he felt his wand against his palm.

The big man was close, very close, and it took Harry no time at all to flick his wand in the required motion and send the large man barreling away again with a burst of red light.

Immediately, Harry turned in the direction of Lee, pushing his legs to intercept the two shinobi who were already on top of him.

One was already turned to face him, hands moving through a fast string of seals, and the other rose, sword dripping with bright, red blood, facing him as well. Harry turned his wand on the one on the left, casting another expelling curse.

The shinobi dove out of the way, but Harry was more concerned with the other, as he closed the distance between them and the sword arced towards him. Harry dove under it, feeling the wind of the flashing blade just over his head, and landed beside his student, already facing the enemy again.

He caught a glimpse of blood on the boy's clothes, and the dull look in Lee's dark eyes, but he wasn't able to accurately ascertain his student's situation because the swordsman was already bringing his blade around again and the other two were returning to their comrade's aid.

Options flashed through the teen's head, none of them good, and he swiftly grabbed Lee, performing another quick substitution.

A safe distance away, Harry allowed himself a moment to take in Lee's condition. The boy was bleeding profusely from a wound on his abdomen, and blood was coating his lips. He was still breathing, but barely, the movements of his chest shallow and labored, and the Genin's dark eyes were unfocused and didn't even meet his gaze.

That was all the time the enemy needed to locate them, and Harry looked up to see one of the remaining shinobi completing a string of seals, and thrusting his arm at the ground.

Harry didn't want to wait and find out what was going to happen—the ground was shaking.

In one quick motion, he grabbed the pendant he wore around his neck with the hand still clutching Lee's arm, and pressed his wand against it with the other.

"_Tripadium,"_ he hissed, even as the earth began to explode out around them.

In an instant, the battlefield was gone, and Harry felt like he might be sick at the sudden, insistent tugging at his intestines, even though it was a sensation he had felt before. And then he was crouching beside Lee, on the cool granite flooring in the Headmistress's office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

His heart was still beating too loudly in his ears, and the room spun around him in a dizzying streak of colors and lights—he vaguely thought he spotted McGonagall's shocked face—and then the world went black.

* * *

Harry barely managed to hold back a pained groan as he woke, feeling hot and sore down to his bones. His head throbbed and his mouth was dry, but the Jounin stayed completely still, silently taking in his surroundings.

He wasn't bound or chained, and he was actually quite comfortable. There was a familiar, unnerving something in the air, but he didn't feel particularly threatened by it.

Slowly, the teen opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings—the white sheets hanging around him and the high, arcing ceiling overhead.

Suddenly, he recalled using Dumbledore's medallion to escape with Lee at the last second. He was back at Hogwarts, and with that knowledge, he was able to place his surroundings.

Harry sat up quickly, waves of dizziness assaulted him and the room spun, but Harry was determined, already swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

"Oh! Oh, dear! Harry, stop!" An anxious voice exclaimed, and through the swirling colors, Harry caught a brief glimpse of the worried medi-witch's face.

Scowling, he put a hand to his forehead, which felt hot under his fingers, and shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the dizziness to stop. When he opened them again, Madame Pomfrey was wearing a put-out expression, frowning unhappily at him. One hand moved to his shoulders, the gesture clearly meant to be restraining, although it wasn't a tight grip.

"You mustn't get up yet, Harry," Pomfrey said, with a warm sort of sternness, "Your body hasn't yet recovered from the effects of the poison."

"Poison?" Harry repeated, recalling the strange liquid he had seen on the chain and reaching an understanding. He groaned—_that_ was why he was feeling so awful. Shaking his head briefly, he looked up at the witch again, green eyes a little watery. "Where is Lee?"

The witch's eyebrows tightened with concern. "The boy Minerva brought in with you?" She asked. Without waiting for his answer, she continued, "He's alive, but barely. He's still unconscious. I had to give him _three_ blood replenishing potions! _Three_! If he'd come in any later, he would have died, as it is, it's lucky wizard blood is thicker than most!"

Relief washed over Harry at the news. Lee was alive, and for a moment that was all that mattered. Another truth followed quickly on the heels of his relief.

The Hokage's hunting team would be waiting for them at the rendezvous location. Minichi was still held captive, presumably by the same four shinobi who had attacked him and Lee. Harry still had a mission to complete.

With that in mind, the teen forced himself to his feet. He felt a little dizzy, but mostly just sore, and was able to keep his equilibrium enough to step forward.

"Now, there, young man, you lie back down right this minute!" Pomfrey demanded irately, "You need to give yourself some time to recover! That was some powerful poison in your system, and we had to use a bezoar, without being able to determine what exactly it was. The damage the poison caused to your system was only stopped, not reversed, you need to rest and give us time to heal you."

Harry glowered at the woman. "You don't understand," he said harshly, "I was in the middle of something very important. I came here to get Lee out of there, that's all. Where are my clothes; how long was I unconscious?"

Unhappily, Pomfrey returned the teen's uniform to him, still fussing and worrying as he pointedly ignored her and changed. He had been unconscious for three hours—it could have been a lot worse. As it was, he would be late, but hopefully he would still be able to meet the Hokage's team and direct them to the underground lair.

"What could possibly be so important that you have to rush out, half dead, without giving yourself time to heal?" Madame Pomfrey finally exploded.

Harry looked at her dryly, and finally answered. "A friend of mine was captured, a rescue party is on its way, but the enemy knows we've found them, and without my help, they won't be able to get to him in time." He smiled tightly and added, "Don't worry, I'll be back. I have to get Lee, after all."

The witch looked like she wanted to say more, but Harry touched his wand to his medallion once more and he was gone.

* * *

The moment Harry's feet felt solid ground underneath them again, the teen took off running, sending chakra to strengthen and accelerate his wobbly legs. Unsurprisingly, the four shinobi he'd barely escaped were nowhere in sight, but Harry wasn't waiting around to see if they'd reappear.

His mind set and determined, the Jounin never slowed—he couldn't afford to—but he didn't quite reach the designated meeting place.

A heavy force knocked him off his feet, and the air rushed out of Harry's laboring lungs as he tumbled through the long weeds. Harry's head snapped around, the world spinning again, kunai in hand. His wrist was grabbed in an iron grip and he was pinned to the ground by his neck.

"What was the name of the guard on duty the morning you left Konoha?" Despite the severity of the harsh voice, Harry felt a rush of relief.

"Isamu was at the front gate, so it must have been Squadron Two," Harry replied quickly, "Under the command of Hiroi Tadashi."

Harry was released and hauled to his feet—Harry thought that was a good thing, because he was feeling a little nauseous again and wasn't sure he could have made it himself.

"You look awful. And you're late, what's happened?"

Harry smiled thinly under his mask, and looked up at the porcelain boar hiding the face of his best friend. His smile quickly disappeared.

"Lee was injured in an attack," Harry supplied grimly, "But we found where they're keeping Minichi. It should be in quadrant 2734. There's some sort of stronghold built underground."

The ANBU nodded sharply. "Did you see what condition the target was in?"

Harry shook his head. "No, we were attacked before we even tried to get inside. There were only four of them, but Lee was injured and we had to fall back. One of them was killed, but there may be more we didn't see."

"And, Tenzou," Harry added when the ANBU turned back to the rest of his team. The boar-shaped mask whipped around to him again, dark eyes glaring through the holes. Harry ignored the anger and continued, grimly, "They were using snakes as sentry."

The ANBU faltered, briefly, and then nodded, dark eyes hard. "We'll take it from here. You should see to your student."

Harry swallowed thickly and nodded, watching as the five masked shinobi spoke amongst themselves for several seconds in hushed voices, and then took off in the direction Harry had given them, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

The snake hadn't made much of an impression on Harry immediately, but seeing his friend again had reminded him intensely of the only other time he had come across a snake that was apparently under a human's orders.

Silently, the teen hoped that he was wrong, because Tenzou shouldn't have to face that again.

But the ANBU were right, they would be able to handle whatever they met in that place, and Harry had more important places to be. He had a student in the hospital, after all, and the after-effects of poison still working through him.

* * *

"Harry!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed in surprise, which quickly changed to confusion, "I thought you were—"

"I had to take care of something," Harry explained vaguely, "Is Lee awake yet?"

The witch pursed her lips, and looked like she wanted to say something more, but finally she settled with, "He is not. I suggest you talk to Madame Pomfrey about his condition."

Nodding, Harry headed for the door.

"Harry Potter," the woman started sternly.

Harry turned to look at her, scowling, "Professor, you know _that_ isn't my name."

"Mr. _Hatake_, then," McGonagall continued, equally firm, "Harry, you came here six months ago, with that boy, telling me he was a _wizard_ and _your student_, and then you brought him here again, bleeding with both of you on death's door. Now, you have done the wizarding world a great service, albeit in your own unique way, and up until now I have allowed you to come and go as you please, but I think it's about time you explain what is going on."

Harry bit back a sharp reply. Realistically, these people had saved his and Lee's lives, and as much as he didn't like it, he was in their debt. He took a deep breath and shook his head.

"Last spring, I was promoted," Harry explained unhappily, "And with this promotion, I was qualified to take on a student. One of the boys at the Academy showed signs of magical ability and the Hokage asked me to train him in wizardry."

He shrugged, "Since we picked up his wand, that's what I've been doing. We were on a mission, we were expected to stay clear of trouble, but I let us get too close. One of my—friends was captured, and we were gathering information to get him back, we were spotted, and they attacked us. It was all I could do to get us away."

The witch's lips were tight as she regarded him. At length, she released a sigh. "Your land is a violent one that I can't even pretend to understand," she said tiredly, "And it doesn't sit well with me, to think of children born to be sent into such danger that they end up like _that_."

Harry scowled more deeply, "But you would live in a world that looks to a boy to kill their enemies for them?"

The woman frowned in reply. "I have never approved of using children to fight the battles that should belong to adults. Unfortunately, my opinion is not always that of the majority."

"… I have to see to Lee," Harry said uncomfortably, still irritable as he let the door slam behind him.

Harry told himself he was overreacting, but he was tired, sore, his vision was just slightly doubled, and his head was still pounding enough that he couldn't bring himself to care. He was still irritated when he reached the hospital wing, and Madame Pomfrey immediately tried to steer him back to bed.

"Really, I can't imagine what you were doing, running off like that!" She chastised, "You're just as bad as your brother was, you know, you're liable to get yourself killed if you don't slow down a little, Harry."

Harry glowered at her, "Where is Lee-kun? I want to see him."

Worrying and complaining the whole time, the woman reluctantly led him to the back of the infirmary, where she pulled the curtains aside to reveal the dark-haired boy, still unconscious, lying in bed. Harry toned the woman out and stepped up to his student's side, frowning down at the pale boy in concern, remembering all the blood he had lost during the fight.

He should have waited for backup after the incident with the snake and he had begun to suspect things were even more dangerous than they had previously believed. Especially if _that man_ was really involved. Harry shuddered, he secretly hoped the Hokage's backup had come too late, because he couldn't even think about what might happen to Tenzou if Orochimaru was somewhere behind that buried door.

The teen swallowed hard and tried to push the thought out of his mind.

Behind him, the Infirmary door suddenly slammed open.

"Madame Pomfrey!"

"There was an accident in potions! We were just finishing our Polyjuice and Parvati accidentally added a cat hair, and—and—"

The medi-witch hurried over to the three students while Harry turned on instinct. He could only stare. Perhaps he had been removed from the wizarding world for too long, but what looked like a furry, half-human, half-cat wearing robes was crying pathetically as Madame Pomfrey whisked it away, quickly pulling another set of curtains around them while Harry's stare lingered on the odd sight.

And people thought _his_ life was strange.

"Harry?"

Reluctantly, the teen drew his eyes back across the room, and his surprise redoubled when he really took notice of the pair that had escorted the cat-girl in for the first time.

"I can't believe you're really back here!" Hermione Granger resembled her childhood self in that her long hair was still an apparently unmanageable frizz, but her features had aged and grown slimmer and sharper, and Harry imagined that, underneath the robes, the rest of her body had developed as well. She practically ran across to him before pulling up short, frowning. "You look awful!"

Harry couldn't help the laugh, still surprised to see his old classmates—the ones who had followed him and befriended him when all he'd done was try to get rid of them. He wasn't sure what to think of them now. "You're the second person in the last hour to tell me that."

"Man, I can't believe it, either! What are you doing back here, mate? I thought you were gone for good!" Ron Weasley was only a step behind the girl, his flaming red hair a little shaggier than it had been when he was thirteen, and his freckles just a touch fainter. He was a good head taller than Harry, with long and lanky limbs and features.

"I'm just passing through," Harry explained awkwardly—he'd specifically avoided running into anyone he knew every other time he'd _passed through_. He looked the pair over critically for a moment and raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly, "Are you still students?"

Ron reddened and Hermione looked a little insulted.

"Well, this is our last year," the witch explained, "After our NEWTS we'll be fully-fledged witches and wizards, but there will always be a lot more to learn."

"I'm guessing you're _not_ still a student, then?" Ron grumbled unhappily.

Harry shrugged, "A good shinobi is always learning. But I don't have a specified teacher anymore, no."

He shifted uncomfortably, wishing he could tell the two to leave, but he didn't really have that kind of authority here and he didn't want to seem like a complete jerk after they had risked their lives to help him, even if it had been the fault of their people that he'd been in danger in the first place. At the same time, he couldn't leave himself—he glanced down at Lee.

"Who is he?" Hermione asked softly, and Harry's eyes snapped up again in surprise. She smiled a little, "The way you look at him—he's obviously someone important to you."

Harry didn't think he'd been looking at Lee any way in particular, but he blamed it on the after-effects of the poison and his still cloudy head. Hermione probably couldn't tell the difference. "This is Lee," he supplied unhappily—but McGonagall and Pomfrey already knew who he was, and Harry was the only way between their lands, besides, so these two could hardly cause any further threat. "He's my student."

The teen was met with a moment of stunned silence.

"Excuse me, he's _what_?" Ron finally blurted, rubbing at his ear, "I think I've been hearing things, mate, because I thought you said—your _student_?"

Harry nodded. "The Hokage assigned him to me to teach about half a year ago now."

"So… you're teaching him to be a shinobi," Hermione said slowly, and looked around suspiciously, "Is he… I mean, what is he doing at Hogwarts…?"

Harry coughed. This was going to be awkward. "In addition to… training him as a shinobi… I have been teaching Lee-kun magic. Besides, this was the only safe place we could run at the time and…"

"You're teaching him magic?" Ron blurted, "Blimey!"

"Last time… I thought you hated magic, Harry?" Hermione echoed her friend's confusion.

"I did…" Harry agreed uncomfortably, "But I grew up, you know? I still hate everything that happened to me back here—the way the Ministry and Dumbledore used me and my brother, and Voldemort and his followers, of course. But magic is something that's practically unheard of where I come from, and it's certainly not trained like it is here. As far as we know, I'm the first trained wizard our lands have had in our entire history, and that's an advantage I can't afford to lose."

He shrugged, "So, I've kind of been training a little on my own since I left. Professor McGonagall has allowed me to use her office as a gateway to purchase books in Diagon Alley occasionally—"

"You've been passing through all this time and you didn't even stop to say hello to us?" Hermione demanded, angry.

Ron looked a little hurt, "I know things were rocky… but I kind of thought, you know, at the end, that we were sort of, kind of… mates."

Harry had known this was going to be awkward. He scowled, "It's not like you two were really that different from anyone else, you know. The only reason you ever helped me was because you wanted Voldemort dead."

The pair seemed to be getting more and more angry, for which Harry was glad—any minute, they would storm out and he could forget the entire confrontation and get his student back to Konoha. They didn't defend themselves though, because a different voice groaned from behind him.

"Se—sensei…?"


	6. Dreamless Sleep

Extending the Boundaries

_R. Winters_

__Here's chapter 6. I feel like it's up faster than usual...? But, then again, I'm not a very good judge of that right now. I still can't believe that it's been a month since I posted the last chapter-does time flow more quickly as you start growing up? Could be a bad sign. Anyway, thank you to everyone who reviewed chapter 5! It was very much appreciated, and I hope you enjoy the new chapter! I'm sure a lot of you want a lot more to happen here at Hogwarts, but let me assure you ahead of time... this is not the last time we'll see Hogwarts...

Chapter 6 – Dreamless Sleep

Harry spun, the swiftness of the motion making his head swim again. He grabbed the nearest bedpost to keep his balance and leaned down next to his student. "Lee?"

The boy's eyelids fluttered briefly, but didn't quite open, and he groaned again, head turning slightly away and falling still once more. Still clinging to the bedpost, Harry's head jerked back around.

"Pomfrey-san!" He shouted, "Pomfrey-san!"

Raised voices were muffled briefly by the curtains on the other side of the room, and then the medi-witch hurried out, looking worried. Ron and Harry backed up enough to let the woman through, with mirrored expressions of concern.

"Are you alright, Mr. Hatake?" The woman worried as she approached, sharp eyes taking in the boy's haggard appearance and the way he was using the bed to support himself.

Harry ignored the question. "Lee spoke," he explained tiredly, "I thought he was waking up, but…"

"I'll take a look," Pomfrey said, taking the teen gently by the arm, "You sit down over here while I work."

Harry frowned, but allowed her to lead him to the next bed over. As soon as he was off his feet, he felt his weariness returning. More than just the after effects of the poison, although that certainly helped, he'd slept all of three hours in the last two days, and he hadn't had a lot of a buffer behind that.

He fought to keep his eyes open, leaning against the head of the bed as he watched the witch leaning over his student. Harry was only vaguely aware of the other two teens moving closer to him on the other side of the bed.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked, surprised and worried at the same time.

"I'm…" Harry managed to drag his eyes across to the two concerned faces and he sighed, looking back towards Lee. "Sorry," he grumbled quietly. "I'm just… this isn't how I expected to spend my day, you know."

Ron laughed ruefully, "I hear you there."

"I'm sure he'll be okay," Hermione added, "After all, Madame Pomfrey's here and…" Harry wasn't sure what else she said, because despite his best attempts to stay awake, he was drifting back into unconsciousness.

He was right on the edge when he felt someone moving him and he jolted back awake—still drowsy but instinctively resisting the hands.

"Calm down, Harry," Madame Pomfrey's patient, if somewhat tired, voice wafted through his foggy mind and Harry stilled, blinking hard several times to clear his vision.

He found himself looking up at the witch as she laid him flat across the bed. "I sent your friends away," she added.

"And Lee?" Harry prompted worriedly, starting to sit up again—the witch's hand on his chest stopped him and he didn't resist as she pushed him back down, his head turning to see his student's sleeping form next to him.

"He's still unconscious," Pomfrey replied, "Although he's doing better than before. I gave him another potion, he might even wake up in the morning." She frowned down severely at the teen, "And I think it's time that you followed his example, Mr. Hatake."

Harry wasn't particularly keen on the idea of falling asleep here anymore than he had been about falling asleep out on the field, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to hold out much longer.

"I'll wait until he wakes up," he argued tiredly.

Pomfrey snorted, "You couldn't even stay awake a moment ago, you will do no such thing. If you make me, I'll give you a draught for Dreamless Sleep; that will keep you asleep all night, one way or another."

The words sparked in Harry's head and he looked at the woman in surprise. "Dreamless?" He echoed, "You have a potion like that?"

Slowly, the woman frowned. "Yes," she answered shortly, and continued suspiciously, "Would you like some?"

Harry considered. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept all the way through the night, although some were admittedly better than others. Still, if he could get even one night of sleep in without any nightmares, it would do him a world of good. He nodded.

"I have been having some trouble sleeping," he admitted reluctantly.

Pomfrey gave a slow measured nod and stood. "I'll fetch you a dose, Harry."

* * *

Harry woke with a start, reaching for his weapons while simultaneously scrambling to get to his feet, a task made more difficult by the unfamiliar bedding that surrounded him. He managed to find them, though, and he stood, breathing heavily with adrenaline, in the darkened hospital room in just under three seconds.

Harry blinked hard several times, looking about him, from his student still asleep in bed and around the darkened room. Slowly, he released a long, deep breath. He groaned and brought a hand across his eyes.

He didn't remember dreaming, but he must have to have woken up like he did. Obviously, Madame Pomfrey's potion hadn't quite worked to give him the promised dreamless sleep.

Harry took one last look around the room, shook his head, and turned to the door.

* * *

After several hours training on school grounds, Harry managed to catch a short nap in a tree at the edge of the forest, waking up again at sunrise. He stayed where he was, watching as the sun slowly rose over the lake, losing himself in memories of the year he'd spent at the school.

It felt like a long time ago, and it was weird to really see how little things had changed. He was expecting the memories of loneliness, fear, and anger. He hadn't expected the hints of nostalgia, of friendship, support, and security that followed.

Harry frowned slightly, staring out over the lake, glittering and orange in the morning sunlight. He stood up abruptly, and with one quick motion, leaped from the tree and to the ground, heading back up to the castle.

Madame Pomfrey jumped on him almost immediately when he stepped into the infirmary.

"Mr. Hatake!" The witch exclaimed angrily, "Where have you been? You were supposed to be resting!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Your potion doesn't work," he supplied dryly, "I spent the morning working. Is Lee awake yet?'

The witch looked upset, but before she could respond, Lee spoke from the other side of the room.

"Sensei…?"

Ignoring Pomfrey's further protests, Harry hurried across to his student, "Lee-kun."

Lee rubbed his eyes, and pushed himself up weakly, looking around with droopy eyelids. Harry smiled, sitting next to him and putting a hand on his forehead—he didn't feel hot.

"How do you feel?" The teen prompted.

The boy looked relieved and sat back again. "I feel…" He didn't finish the sentence, "Harii-sensei, what happened…?"

"Do you remember the attack?" Harry asked worriedly, "You were injured."

Lee's eyes widened again and he jerked upright—the boy cringed and clutched at his side and Harry eased him back on the bed. "Sensei… what happened with the mission…? I could not get to—to Juliet."

"You did well, Lee," Harry was quick to ensure the boy, "The enemy was at a level above us, that's all. After I got us out of there, I went back and was able to rendezvous with the retrieval team. They should have gotten Minichi out of there by now."

He hadn't really had time to think about it until then, between his concern for Lee, his unease at being back at Hogwarts, and his continuing sleeplessness. But now that he had, he _really_ hoped that the retrieval team had completed the mission safely. He would have to get back as soon as possible to find out.

He looked at his student again and felt a twinge of guilt—he couldn't leave Lee here alone, though. It was his fault that the boy had been injured in the first place. Harry had taken unnecessary risk, and hadn't fully taken into account the fact that Lee was only a rookie Genin. He'd screwed up and it had almost cost both of them their lives.

"I am sorry, sensei…" Lee apologized, staring down at his hands, "I slowed you down on the mission."

Harry sighed, and shot the boy a sharp look. "Lee," he said sternly, "What did I just say?"

Lee looked up uneasily.

"You did well," Harry reiterated, "You're a Genin, you still have a lot to learn, and that mission was too much for any Genin—it would have been too much for most Chuunin. You kept your head, though. You didn't panic, and you did your best to follow orders even under pressure when they seemed impossible. I couldn't ask for anything more."

He smiled at the boy's surprised look. "For now," the Jounin continued, "I need you to have something to eat and get some more rest. I need you back at a hundred percent again, okay?"

Lee grinned. "Yosh! I will do my best, sensei!"

Reassured, Harry nodded and turned to leave the room—he was confronted by a fierce looking medi-witch glowering down at him. Harry supposed this was his punishment for leaving his brother alone with the overprotective nurse so many times when he had been injured.

"I assume you were simply turning to go back to bed?" She asked with an inflection that implied that had better well be what he was doing.

Harry felt a flush of annoyance. "I'm not a child," he snapped, "I'll go to bed when I need to go to bed. The poison isn't affecting me anymore. I'm fine."

"It's my job to know exactly what sort of care those that come to me need," Pomfrey responded firmly, "Why don't you let me examine you and determine whether you're really _fine_ or not?"

Harry glanced over his shoulder at Lee—the boy quickly looked away. The teen sighed, shoulders sagging. If he wanted Lee to listen and get better, he couldn't very well ignore the nurse's orders. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Fine, do it."

The woman looked surprised—she glanced between the two boys before nodding and regaining her composure. She smiled, "Thank you, Harry, it won't take long. Just sit back on your bed and relax." She slipped out her wand and held herself back from physically helping the young Jounin into his bed.

Harry tried not to look too unhappy as she closed the curtains around his bed and began waving her wand. It took several minutes, with the witch reading glowing lines of numbers and letters that meant nothing to Harry—he'd tried to figure out what his medical reports meant in the past, but he'd long since given up even trying to understand those sorts of things, thoroughly convinced that they were written in an entirely different language.

At last, she put her wand away again, frowning at the teen.

"Are you satisfied?" Harry asked shortly.

"The last of the poison does seem to have cleared out of your system," the witch agreed reluctantly, "But I am most certainly not satisfied. You need to rest, Harry, your body is exhausted. I can give you another potion and—"

"It's not going to help," Harry interrupted, scowling. He rose from the bed, "If that's all, I am sure I can handle a little sleep deprivation."

"Harry!" The woman insisted, "It's dangerous to keep the body working in a state of exhaustion! I should think—in your line of work—especially!"

Harry considered a moment, thinking back over the root of the reason that he couldn't sleep. The dreams he'd been having that had been keeping him from getting a full night's sleep for months. He scowled, potions weren't going to help and all of this was a waste of time. There was only one thing he could think of that might mean something right now, and it wasn't something this witch could give him.

"I think I know a little better than you what my work requires," Harry inserted coldly, "After all, you're in the business of _saving_ lives."

The woman looked shocked, her face a few shades paler than usual as the implications of his words sank in. Harry very carefully didn't smile.

"If you'll excuse me, Pomfrey-san, I'm going to find something to eat."

The witch didn't even have the presence of mind to attempt to stop him.

* * *

After a brief stop off at the kitchens, Harry roamed the castle, feeling for the weak jumbles of chakra that marked the locations of each classroom. He walked in on a group of first-years struggling to transfigure needles into haystacks before walking back out of the classroom quickly.

Ravenclaw and Gryffindor third-years were in Charms, and Slytherin and Hufflepuff fifth years were somehow not killing each other in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry finally found the seventh-years in the dungeons with Professor Snape.

Harry's gaze swept right past the potions' master, who was momentarily too surprised by the interruption to say anything, and his eyes landed on Hermione and Ron, who were sharing a bench on the right side of the room.

"I need to talk with you," he said simply.

Snape was glaring furiously and interrupted before his students could even begin to move towards the door. "What do you think you're doing, Mr.—_Hatake_?" The man demanded angrily.

"This doesn't concern you," Harry retorted without even glancing at him.

"Harry… we're in class…" Hermione argued uncertainly.

"I can see that," Harry retorted dryly, "Don't worry, as a teacher, I'll sign your absence notes."

"Don't move!" Snape ordered the pair, pointing at them as Ron stood up. He stalked across the room towards the teen. "I realize you have grandeur ideas about your importance, Hatake, but your _fame_ counts for _nothing _in this classroom. You are not a teacher at this establishment and you have no call to pull students out of their classes. If you don't leave now, I will resort to force."

Harry raised an eyebrow, looking at the wand in the man's hand. "Really, professor, you're well outside the range of usefulness of that weapon. At this point, I could kill you before you even put together the words of a spell." He smirked, "But I don't have time to argue with you. I'll be leaving the castle in a few hours, so you won't even have to put up with me for long. If you'd like, I'll let you know exactly when I'm leaving, and you can come yell at me so you can feel like you've done your duty and chased me off."

"Professor," Hermione inserted quickly, hurrying across to join the men at the door, "It's alright, we've already finished our potion, and class is nearly over. We'll just go so he doesn't distract the rest of the students any longer, okay?"

Snape looked like he wanted to argue further, but there wasn't a lot he could say. He couldn't very well attack Harry Potter in front of a class full of students—this wizarding world still looked upon the infuriating brat as its savior for killing Voldemort. He couldn't even give the brat detention—not that he'd ever attended when he did.

Grudgingly, the man nodded and turned back to his class, snapping a fresh set of orders. The best he could hope for was that the boy really was gone as quickly as he promised, and in the meantime, he would take his wrath out on the other students.

Harry stepped back into the hall and Hermione and Ron joined him, the red-head quickly shutting the door after them.

"You know, yesterday you didn't seem like you wanted to talk to us at all," Hermione noted cautiously, after the three of them had walked some distance down the halls.

"Yeah," Ron grunted in agreement, glowering across at Harry, "In fact, I think you said something along the lines about us only liking you to get you to kill You-Know-Who."

Harry rolled his eyes. Admittedly, that had been stupid of him. He didn't have a lot of allies here—people who would really go out of their way to help him—and he shouldn't be trying to alienate the few people he thought he might be able to trust. Especially when he needed something from them. But Ron and Hermione were really too sensitive.

"Yesterday I was half delusional from poison and could barely keep my feet underneath me," he stated blandly, "I shouldn't have said that—it doesn't really matter why you guys helped me back then, anyway."

Ron looked a little mollified by the explanation, but Hermione didn't seem convinced.

"That doesn't mean you don't feel that way," she pointed out unhappily, "Harry, how can we trust you if you don't trust us?"

Harry counted to ten in his head. If he was going to make any use of the time he was stuck here, he needed their help, which meant he had to play nice and bury the years of resentment he'd spent molding. Besides, if he was honest with himself, he probably held the least amount of resentment towards these two.

"Out of everyone here, you two are the ones I trust the most," Harry admitted reluctantly, "And there's some unfinished business I need to talk with you about."

"Everyone _here_," Ron grunted unhappily, "That doesn't count for a whole lot."

Harry eyed the other boy flatly, "What do you want me to say?"

Ron shrugged uncomfortably.

Harry continued, "Do you want me to feed you pretty lines of eternal friendship and how miserable I've been without you? Isn't it enough that I consider the two of you allies? That I'm coming to _you_ about this and not someone else?"

"What do you need to talk about?" Hermione asked with a resigned sigh.

"Do you remember what Dumbledore was saying before we left?" Harry asked, stopping to turn to look at the pair, "About Horcrux?"

Ron snorted. "Of course we remember. Professor Lupin and the others took forever hunting them down."

"It took three years and half of Mr. Black's department to find and destroy them," Hermione added.

Harry nodded, "So they destroyed all of them, then?"

"Sure," Ron confirmed.

Hermione chewed her lower lip a bit, "Professor Dumbledore thought there were six. Two were destroyed by your brother, Harry, and we found… three more. But Abe—that is, Professor Dumbledore's brother—he thinks that Voldemort might never have created a sixth, that you might have defeated him before he had the time to make it, when you were a baby," she spoke quickly, "And, I mean, they looked _everywhere_ and used _every_ kind of spell they possibly could to locate them!"

Harry frowned at the pair.

Ron shifted awkwardly. "Dumbledore was wrong about other things," he put in helpfully, "I mean, he was wrong about making you come here, right? And…"

Harry's lips twitched towards a surprised smile under his mask and he let out a soft laugh. He pinned Ron with a dry look, "Don't try sucking up to me, it sounds stupid."

Ron's protest was quick and hot on his lips but Harry interrupted. "So, there's no conceivable way that any piece of him is left, right?"

"Everyone was very confident that we'd destroyed everything," Hermione confirmed. She frowned back at Harry, "What's happened to make you ask all of a sudden?"

"Nothing," Harry said quickly. "I just figured, since I was back and everything, I should make sure you had all cleaned up your mess without me. I don't want to be dragged back here _again_ if there were still parts of him around."

Hermione's expression was suspicious, "And you waited five years to find out?"

Harry shrugged, "I've been busy."

"And that's why you pulled us out of class to ask us about it?" Ron blurted. He frowned dubiously at the other boy, "Even _I_ find that unlikely, mate."

Harry considered what they'd said, about trust and everything. He couldn't really bring himself to trust anyone who grew up in such a different place. Even ninja from other villages were easier to understand than wizards.

"Hermione," he turned towards the girl again, expression serious, "What do you know about dreams?"

The girl stared at him blankly for a moment, blinking in surprise. "What?" She asked at length, "What do you mean?"

Harry thought for a moment. Trust didn't have anything to do with this. Hermione and Ron had been raised in this world of magic; they'd been constantly surrounded by it for the last seven years, at least. This was about information, and Harry needed some.

Voldemort was dead. Harry's dreams couldn't possibly have anything to do with him. But, the dreams remained, and as much as he hated to admit it, they were getting to him.

"Have you heard about dreams that can't be blocked out by the Draught of Dreamless Sleep?" Harry asked at length.

"I'm pretty sure that stops just about all dreams," Ron inserted, "Thus, you know, the name."

Hermione frowned. "I don't think I've ever heard of that before," she said, "But I have the feeling that you have, Harry."

Harry frowned—they weren't as easy to manipulate as they'd been when they were all kids.

"What sort of dreams are you having?" Hermione pressed.

Harry cringed under his mask. They definitely were easier to manipulate back then. He bit back a sharp retort for her to mind her own business, and considered what the harm would be in telling these two. Considering how extremely separated their two worlds were, he concluded that there was a fairly low risk associated with it. The largest damage would be to his pride.

"Recently, I've been dreaming about Voldemort," he admitted reluctantly, "Even Pomfrey-san's potions weren't able to stop it last night."

Ron looked sympathetic, "I used to have dreams about that kind of stuff, too, mate, but—"

Rolling his eyes, Harry interrupted quickly, "It's not _that_ sort of dream."

He shook his head in exasperation. "Forget it."

"Wait, what sort of dream is it, Harry?" Hermione pressed, "If even the Dreamless Draught didn't stop it… it must be more than just a nightmare."

Grudgingly, Harry continued, "It feels just like the dreams I used to have, when I was here." He glanced at the girl self-consciously, then looked at the wall, "I used to have dreams about what Voldemort was doing all the time. They stopped when I killed him, of course, but the dreams I've been having recently have been sort of like that."

The two wizards looked a little pale.

"Are you saying that maybe… You-Know-Who… he's not really dead?" Ron asked uneasily.

Harry scowled, "If all the Horcruxes were destroyed, I don't see how that's possible. I was just asking if you guys knew anything about it—you've had more wizard training than me, and I wasn't sure if it was related to that." He shook his head, "It's probably nothing. Just a weird side-effect of… stress or something." He didn't know what he could be stressed out about, but it seemed like the most likely explanation.

"I've never heard of anything like that," Hermione admitted, frowning. "But I'll look into it, Harry. Can I write you if I find something out?"

Harry felt a little awkward again, for the offer of help. He'd half been expecting for the girl to offer some reasonable explanation connected to wands or magical creatures or something equally bizarre. Either that or for them both to simply assure him that he was crazy and wave him away. Instead, he got concern and an offer for future help. It was weird.

"Owls can't fly between here and Konoha," Harry said. "The only thing that could was the Phoenix."

Hermione hesitated. "Well… if you want to come back and see if I've found anything… in a month or two… I can still look."

"I don't—" Harry cut himself off. If there was some magical way to stop his nightmares, it would certainly be worth the minimal effort it took to visit Hogwarts. Even if it did mean he would sort of be indebted to these two. His nose wrinkled—they'd probably want him to visit more often or something.

The Jounin forced a smile. "I can do that. Thanks a lot, Hermione."

The girl practically beamed.

* * *

"We have a long trip back to the village," Harry explained as Lee tentatively walked around the hospital room, under Madame Pomfrey's disapproving gaze. "If you're not up for it, you need to tell me now."

"I am feeling much better, sensei," the Genin assured him enthusiastically, reaching his arms around behind his back to stretch them out. "And I feel as though I have been asleep forever!"

Harry chanced a glance across at the medi-witch. She clearly did not approve of anything he was trying to do.

"It will be safe," he assured the woman, "All we're doing is going back to Konoha."

Pomfrey's frown ticked a little deeper and she looked pointedly at the windows, "Isn't it a little late to be thinking of going out now?"

Harry followed her gaze—it was pitch black. Even the moon wasn't out. "In Konoha, it will be early morning."

Pomfrey crossed her arms over her chest with a _humph_ and continued to glower at the pair disapprovingly.

Harry sighed, "If you don't think Lee-kun is healthy enough…"

"That boy should be in bed for the rest of the week at _least_," the woman interrupted sharply, "And more importantly, _you_ should, as well! If it was my choice, I'd sedate you for a month."

Harry looked around at Lee again, who was watching the foreign conversation with concern.

"I can do it, Harii-sensei," he said again fervently, "I will not slow you down this time, I promise!"

Harry didn't doubt the boy's word. He'd eaten a full meal just an hour ago, and his complexion was almost back to its normal, healthy glow. Harry would choose a few lower profile missions for another week or so, to allow the boy a chance to fully regain his health, but he seemed back to his energetic self.

With the concern over his student's well being lifted, all Harry could think about was Tenzou and his team. Minichi, confined in those caves by a monster. He was restless. He had to find out what had happened. At this point, he didn't even know if his best friend was still alive.

Harry swallowed firmly and shook the thought from his head. As a shinobi, any of them could die at any moment, and as an ANBU, that was doubly so. Regardless of his own personal feelings, though, Harry still needed to get back to the village, as soon as possible. If Tenzou's team hadn't made it… someone needed to report on what had happened out there.

Making up his mind, he waved Lee over. "Pomfrey-san, thank you for your help. Please thank McGonagall-san for me, as well." There was no reason to be rude, after all.

Harry reached for the pendant that hung around his neck and pulled it out. By now, Lee knew the drill, and he reached for it immediately. Harry pressed his wand to the back, and the pair of ninja were gone.


	7. Teachers and Students

Extending the Boundaries

_R. Winters_

Um... Long time no see? Sorry about the atrociously long delay in between chapters. I didn't forget about you, really. At the end of March, I was transfered all the way across the country... so between the move itself and the associated mountain of work waiting for me when I got here... well, I haven't had much of a chance to write much until just recently. Things will probably be slow for at least the next 2-3 months until things are settled in a little better. But, I shouldn't be gone for as long as I was this last time. The good news is, that once I had time, I completely revamped my outline for the rest of the story, and I'm pretty excited about it, so I'll probably be writing more often during my "free time". Anyway, thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one!

As an apology, please accept a picture of our favorite Hatake brothers... I'm not much of an artist, but you can find a link in my profile if you're interested.

Chapter 7 – Teachers and Students

It took a day and a half to get back to the village at the pace Lee set. Harry very carefully didn't comment on the slower than usual pacing, not wanting his student to feel like he had to push himself too much when he was still recovering.

Harry couldn't quite get the memory of Lee, soaked with blood and half dead, out of his mind. At the time, he'd been sure that the boy was going to die, he still found it hard to believe that the Genin was well and whole, suffering no ill side effects from his near-death experience.

Harry checked them in at the front gate and walked Lee inside, the boy looking longingly in the direction of his home. The Jounin frowned, grabbing the boy's shoulder.

"We have to stop by the hospital first," he reminded Lee, "They're going to need to take a look at you. Make sure that the techniques the wizards used are healing you well enough."

Lee looked up at him innocently, "You, too, sensei?"

Harry cringed. There was no way he was signing himself in to the hospital, mortally poisoned or no. Besides, he was fine now, so there was no reason for him to go. Lee's injuries had been serious compared to his, and the physical aspect of his healing was an important one.

"Let's focus on you, first, Lee-kun," he said smoothly, steering the boy towards the center of town.

They'd barely made it past the first block when they were accosted by a familiar voice.

"Harii!"

Feeling relieved, Harry turned in the direction of the voice, and his chest lightened when he saw his friend jogging towards them, looking none-the-worse for the wear. The older man waved and caught up to him, expression serious.

"Harii, the Hokage wants to see us immediately," Tenzou stated.

Harry hesitated, glancing at Lee. He frowned, "I was just taking Lee to the hospital to get him checked out." He looked at Tenzou uncertainly and added, "The Chuunin at the gate didn't say anything about it…"

Lee, watching the two, stepped forward, frowning severely. "I can do it myself, sensei," he stated boldly, "If Hokage-sama has summoned you, you should go immediately."

Harry hesitated a moment longer, looking down at the boy, then smiled slightly. "Alright, Lee. You go on without me, I'll check in on you when I'm done with the Hokage."

"Yosh!" The boy took off in the direction of the hospital and Tenzou snagged Harry's arm.

With a quick hand seal, the two shinobi disappeared in a swirl of dust and leaves.

Harry was tense until the small reception chamber off the Hokage's office materialized around them. Without even pausing to knock on the door, Tenzou snagged his arm, pulling him into the office.

"We didn't tell the guards," Tenzou stated grimly.

"Thank you for bringing him, Tenzou." The Hokage was seated behind his desk, his hands folded on top of the surface and a heavy weariness in his shoulder and his eyes, and Harry's questions died on his lips.

The old man's eyes bore into Harry's, and Harry was reminded of the power this particular person held at his command. Far more than he did, or even his brother. The Hokage was on another level, and had the respect of every ninja in the village.

"Hokage-sama," he murmured, bowing in the man's direction.

"You said something to Tenzou," the Sandaime said without preamble, "When he met you during the retrieval mission."

Harry could only vaguely recall the events of that meeting. He'd been feverish and exhausted, and the memories were blurry and disoriented. But he was pretty sure he knew what the old man was talking about.

"The caves were abandoned when we got to them," Tenzou added grimly, "There wasn't any trace of the old occupants."

Sarutobi crossed his arms and frowned at the young, white-haired shinobi. "You said the snake was acting as a guard—how could you be certain?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "Snakes… Where most people hear nothing but hissing, I can understand their meaning, Sandaime-sama," he murmured self-consciously, "The snake… called us intruders. It said it was reporting back to its master."

He sounded crazy, Harry thought. Animals did not talk. Even summoned creatures were usually only understandable to the masters they had signed a contract with. It was only the ancient ones that could speak plainly. Once, Harry had thought it was magic, but even wizards didn't talk to animals, and he was much less certain than he'd been as a child.

If anything, the Sandaime looked even grimmer.

Harry hesitated. "Sandaime-sama…" he started at length, "Tenzou said the caves were empty…" He looked across at his friend, "What about Minichi?"

"… He was found, but he doesn't remember much that happened there," the old shinobi said tiredly. "He is in the hospital now." The man sighed, "It seems as though it was Orochimaru, after all, if what you say is true."

Harry didn't respond. Of course what he said was true—the Hokage knew he wasn't lying. But it wasn't a matter of truth or lies so much as acceptance. Thinking of Lee, half-dead in the woods, Harry imagined he could understand, a little, why it was so difficult for the Sandaime to accept what his student had become.

"… If it was Orochimaru… the shinobi that attacked us must have been working for him," Harry said, "They were easily B-ranked."

"My student is still very much alive," the Sandaime agreed grimly, "He is either recruiting them, or training his own. He may become a threat to us in the future; we will have to be careful."

Glancing up at the two shinobi, he waved his hand in a dismissing gesture. "You may go," he said, "Harii, I want a full report from you in the morning."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Harry agreed, for once not flinching at the mention of so much paperwork. This was something important, after all. He would have to try to remember as much as he could.

The two shinobi saluted and backed out of the Hokage's office.

They walked down to the village streets in an awkward silence, and stood at the foot of the tower.

Harry sighed, raking a hand back through his hair. "I have to check on Lee," he muttered. "I want to stop in to see Minichi, too." He found it hard to believe that the other shinobi was still alive, but he couldn't shake the unease he felt about it.

Tenzou nodded with understanding. "I'll see you around."

Harry waved goodbye, echoing the sentiment vaguely, and headed through the streets, losing himself in the familiar sights and smells of Konoha. It felt like he'd been gone a long time.

* * *

Upon arriving at the hospital, the first thing Harry did was check up on his student. Lee was still with a medic, and the young Jounin slipped silently into the room, leaning against the wall next to the door as he watched the woman poke and prod at the fresh skin growing over old wounds.

Despite not announcing his presence, the medic turned towards him when she'd finished her examination. "Hatake-san, this healing is amazing," she said without even a pause, "The patches are as good as new, and it's healthier than the flesh around it. Who performed the medical jutsu on him?"

Harry hadn't expected to be acknowledged, let alone questioned. "A friend of mine," he supplied awkwardly.

"Someone in the village?" the medic pressed in confusion, "If someone has this kind of talent, they should be working here!"

"No," Harry said quickly, "They don't live here. It's—ah—someone from my old village."

The woman stared at him blankly for several long seconds. Harry had lived in Konoha for most of his life—for long enough that most people had forgotten that he hadn't been born there. Especially coupled with the fact that he was part of one of Konoha's oldest families.

"I see," she said at last, appearing only somewhat convinced, "Would it be possible to convince them to come here? To show us some of their techniques?"

"No," Harry said quickly again. This time he didn't bother offering an explanation. He looked past the medic to his student, "Well, it sounds like you're going to live, Lee-kun."

The boy grinned back at him, sliding off the examination table. "After this, sensei, I will train harder than ever!" He promised, "I am going to become as strong as you, and I will not let you down again."

Harry shook his head in exasperation. It was impossible to talk the boy out of it, and he wasn't even going to try—it would be good motivation. "I'm sure you will, Lee. Just take it easy tonight. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yosh, sensei!"

"Hatake-san," the medic started again, and Harry sighed, listening to her persuasive arguments as they filed out of the examination room and he parted ways with Lee, looking for Minichi.

* * *

After ditching the somewhat put-out medic, Harry was directed to a small room on the second floor, buried back in the southeast corner of the hospital. He paused before the closed door, frowning, the unease that had been relieved when he learned his old teammate was able to take visitors, slowly grew inside of him again. Taking a deep breath, the teen knocked.

There was no answer, and Harry knocked again, a little more firmly. He frowned as he was met by silence again.

Harry glanced down the hallway—a young medic scrambled from a room further down the hall with an armful of books. He hesitated a moment longer before quietly calling out, "Minichi?"

There was still no response, and Harry could only see a sliver of an empty bed, the sheets askew. Cautiously, he pushed the door further open.

The teen felt a wave of relief when he saw the other shinobi. Minichi stood on the other side of the room, staring out the window with his back to the door. He was dressed simply in black pants and a tight, black top, long spikes falling down over his shoulder blades. He didn't appear severely injured, although Harry could see angry, red needle marks at the base of his neck, and white bandages dangled loosely in the Uchiha's left hand.

Harry shifted awkwardly and was about to call out again when the older teen spoke.

"Who is it?" Minichi asked quietly, without turning around.

Harry glanced around the room, half-expecting to find someone else, because the soft voice was so unlike the bold and commanding teammate he had known. He swallowed uneasily before answering. "It's Hatake Harry."

"You were part of the team they sent after me," Minichi said.

Harry nodded, even though the Uchiha still had his back to him. He supposed Tenzou must have told him earlier.

"When they told me… well… I was afraid they hadn't made it in time," Harry said awkwardly, "I'm glad I was wrong."

Minichi didn't respond, but he shifted at the window, his empty hand on the sill, and he turned slowly. Harry's eyes widened, and the unease he had been feeling doubled or tripled, transforming into a ball of nausea in his gut. He swallowed hard several times, but couldn't think of anything to say.

"I appreciate it," Minichi said quietly, "Because you found us so quickly, they weren't able to get my eyes to work for them."

Harry had seen some horrible things in his life. He'd been there to witness the aftermath of rape, he'd seem families murdered and villages destroyed, people missing limbs or split open to spill their insides. He had seen his own village very nearly destroyed by the fearsome Nine-Tailed Fox, and watched monsters consume members of his own family.

Despite all of that, he was horrified as he stared into his old teammate's scarred and empty eye sockets. There was something particularly terrible about the gaping wounds on the otherwise untouched face, turned towards him in a cruel parody of normality.

There was nothing Harry could say. He couldn't imagine how anyone could be so cruel as to literally carve the eyes out of a living human being. It was sickening.

Without a word, Harry turned swiftly and left hastily. His breath was harsh and gasping and his body was trembling. His face was pale, his green eyes bright and unseeing as he made his way out of the hospital and through the village.

He hardly recalled his run through the village, and before he knew it he was at the training grounds where he and Tenzou sparred regularly. Without missing a beat, Harry threw himself into an attack against the nearest target, imagining it was Orochimaru and completely destroying it.

Unfortunately, the real Orochimaru could not be killed so easily.

* * *

The darkness felt heavy around him, and his head was aching. He swallowed uneasily, and tasted blood on his lips—he could feel it running down his face.

Hesitantly, he reached up, touching the sticky substance first on his chin, then his cheeks, and finally following it up to his eyes, where all he could feel were empty holes of gore. Horror struck cold through him, and he stared around him anxiously, helplessly trying to see.

A laugh sounded behind him, and Harry spun. Of course, he couldn't see anything, but the volume of the laugh increased, this time off to his left. He spun again, but the laugh was echoing from somewhere else.

He spun around again, but a dizzying sensation of movement passed over him.

Harry struggled to keep his feet, and was suddenly aware of a chorus of voices all around him. He recognized it as Latin, only because of a few of the words sounded similar to the spells he had learned. He was unable to pick out any distinct voices; it was like a continuous rumble of the same person, multiplied all around him.

He spun around again, fingers searching for weapons that weren't there—again, he was overcome with a feeling of motion.

When he came to a stop, everything was quiet again. Harry reached tentatively up towards his eyes, only to jerk back when he felt the raw insides of the sockets.

"And now, Harry Potter, you will die."

Harry tensed, but the attack seemed to come from nowhere, and a searing pain opened his chest, bursting into him.

The teen woke with a gasp.

It took a moment for his surroundings to sink in, and he fell back on his bed with a sigh of relief, because he could see again and the nightmare was over. He turned his head, searching for the clock and bit back a groan when he saw he'd barely been asleep for two hours.

With resignation, he rolled out of bed and headed out to the only place he could think of going.

* * *

Harry wasn't surprised when the window opened for him, and he slipped inside under the light of the moon. The small hospital room was even darker inside than it was outside, and he stood uncomfortably near the window, trying to avoid Minichi's face, although his eyes were currently covered with bandages.

"… I'm sorry about running out on you before," he muttered self-consciously.

The Uchiha shrugged, "I'm sure it's surprising to see."

Harry managed to keep himself from telling the older man just how terrible it was. Instead, he took a deep breath, and forced himself to look up, searching the other Jounin's face.

"Are you okay?" He asked, even though he knew there was no way someone could be okay in his situation.

Minichi might have been staring back at him, the way he used to, when Harry said something he thought was completely stupid—a slight frown on his lips and a wrinkle on his forehead. But the dark eyes were glaringly absent.

At length, the man turned away, and Harry felt relieved. "I've been trying not to think about it," he admitted dryly.

Harry nodded—realized Minichi wouldn't be able to see it—and offered a quiet, "If there's anything I can do…"

Minichi shrugged, "The Uchiha will take care of me. Itachi's already been by to talk about it. Some of the younger girls will look after me when I go back home."

Harry cringed at the self-loathing tone he heard in the other teen's voice. How could anyone who was so strong let themselves be taken care of like an invalid for the rest of their days? But what other options did a man who was unable to see have?

Harry blinked. "It's not the end of your life, you know," he said abruptly.

Minichi's head turned towards him automatically, a frown pulling at his lips and his eyebrows so low they were almost covered by the bandages. "Idiot. I can't be a shinobi anymore—I can't even take care of myself without being able to see! I might as well be dead, for all good I can do for the village."

"You opened the window for me, even though you couldn't see me coming," Harry pointed out.

Minichi snorted, "Great, I can become the Hokage's personal window-opener."

"I'm _saying_ even though you can't see, your other senses are still as good as ever," Harry snapped back before he could stop himself.

Minichi flinched back and Harry stared, surprised with himself.

He scowled and continued more evenly, "You're not helpless, Minichi. You're a Jounin, and even if you can't fight on the same level that you used to, you don't have to be an invalid if you don't want to. I don't really know what you could do now, but you'll never know, either, if you don't try."

"Still," Harry concluded, "If you need anything, just ask. Even if it's a sparring partner—I'll try not to go easy on you."

Minichi didn't say anything, but out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw him nod and turn back to his bed.

"I'll visit you again," Harry promised, before slipping back out the window the way he'd come.

* * *

It felt weird, going to meet up with Lee for training as though nothing had ever happened. As though they both hadn't nearly died and Minichi's eyes hadn't been dug out of their sockets, and Orochimaru wasn't most likely still out there, plotting to get his hands on the secrets of the Sharingan.

Harry refused to treat it as normal. Up until now, he'd been teaching magic in much the same way he had been taught, starting him on simple charms and spells and only gradually raising the bar. But Shinobi life was fast-paced, and what Lee really needed to know was how to fight. Many of the spells he'd taught the boy could be used offensively or defensively, with a certain amount of cleverness and imagination, but there were spells and curses specifically designed for such things.

Harry mechanically unlocked the gate to their usual training area and settled back to wait for his student, mentally reviewing the day's curriculum. He looked up when he heard his student approaching, but his greeting died on his lips when the eleven-year-old stepped into view.

While the large eyebrows and round eyes assured him that it was his student, the boy had chopped off his braid and now his black hair stuck up haphazardly in all directions, only restrained from falling in his eyes by his hitai-ate. Even more bizarre, the green overalls were gone, and instead the boy was wearing dark blue slacks and a black mid-sleeved shirt. Most disturbing, he was wearing a tight, black mask over the lower portion of his face, covering his mouth and nose.

Harry blinked hard and rubbed his eyes, certain that he was dreaming, although this wasn't exactly in pace with his usual nightmares.

"Good morning, Harii-sensei," the boy greeted enthusiastically, smiling a smile that creased his eyes and wrinkled his mask, while his voice was a little distorted and muffled.

Harry struggled for a moment longer before managing to find his own voice, "Good morning… Lee-kun."

"Do you want me to start with warm-ups as usual, sensei?" The boy asked after a moment, when Harry didn't say anything more.

Harry nodded dumbly.

The boy smiled again and saluted. "Yosh! I will work hard, sensei!"

Harry could only stare after him as the boy ran off. He couldn't possibly have seen what he thought he had.

* * *

Harry's brother was a hard person to find when you wanted to find him, but when you didn't want him around he had the talent of being _unavoidable. _So Harry really shouldn't have been surprised when Kakashi was arguing with the Chuunin behind the mission deskwhen he and Lee reported to collect their mission.

The Chuunin broke off in the middle of a sentence—from what Harry caught, he was pretty sure it had to do with illegibly written reports and something about mud—and stared. Harry felt his cheeks flushing under his mask and hoped that it didn't show as Kakashi's head slowly turned towards them, dark eye sliding between Harry and Lee and then back again several times.

The man abruptly broke into laughter.

Harry, trying to hold onto his last remnants of pride, did his best to ignore it and act as though his brother didn't exist, stepping beside the man to address the staring Chuunin. "Do you have a mission for me?"

Lee, lingering a few steps behind his teacher, stared at the laughing man with a small, confused frown, mostly concealed by his mask.

The Chuunin, for his part, did manage to maintain a mostly professional air, passing over a mission scroll while almost managing to smother his own laughter.

Harry practically dragged Lee out the door again in his haste to leave.

* * *

Again, Harry shouldn't have been surprised when he found his brother on his couch, eating noodles out of a takeout box.

Harry shrugged off his vest and slumped beside him with resignation, grabbing the other box. At least he'd had the unusual courtesy to bring food rather than raid his fridge.

"So… how is Lee-kun's training going?" Kakashi asked casually after several moments of silence.

Harry shot him an annoyed look and pointedly ate another mouthful of noodles before answering. "Pretty good. I started him on the shielding charm today."

"Mm… You only learned that one a little while ago, didn't you?" His brother managed to hold onto his casually disinterested tone, although Harry was sure he could see the desire to pester him about Lee's outfit practically flowing from his pores.

"Hmm," Harry agreed with his mouth full of noodles. What Kakashi meant, he knew, is that it was among the spells he'd taught himself once he'd made the decision to start learning magic on his own again.

Finally, what he'd expected in the first place came.

"And he was dressed like you today because of that?" Kakashi asked. Despite his obviously best efforts at sounding innocently curious, Harry could hear his amusement.

The teen scowled as a flush rose to color his cheeks again, this time without the mask to hide it. "I don't know why he did that," he muttered with embarrassment, "He just showed up to training like that today! What was I supposed to do—tell him he can't wear what he wants? Make him go home and change?"

Kakashi laughed mercilessly.

* * *

It took several weeks for Harry to really get used to the fact that Lee was now dressed similarly to him, and for the awkward embarrassment he felt whenever they had to do things in the village—where people could actually _see _them together—to wear off. It was around three weeks before Kakashi stopped _happening_ to run into them _everywhere_, only to burst out laughing.

Lee was progressing as well as Harry could have hoped, and had added several offensive curses to his arsenal. With Harry's encouragement, he was also using them more often when they sparred, and Harry had come a little too close to a cutting curse for comfort in their last session.

Harry could feel his student's nervous energy when they walked out of the Tower, their latest mission in hand. He couldn't really blame the kid—after what had happened on their last "C-Ranked" mission, they had gone back to D-Ranks for a while, and this was the first one they'd taken in the two months since their return.

He smiled, clapping the Genin on his shoulder. "Relax, Lee-kun," he said when the boy jumped at his touch, "This mission is completely different from last time."

Lee eyed him warily, his large, round eyes filled with doubt, "Yes, sensei…"

Rolling his eyes, Harry unrolled the scroll, and read out loud, "Hiromi Masashi-san of Juyounagai requests one team of shinobi to watch over his temple for one week while he's away." He frowned down at the Genin, "The only way this could be dangerous is if you die of boredom, Lee."

The boy's frown was still unhappy, but he nodded, "Yes, sensei…"

Harry sighed, rolling up the scroll and sliding it into a pocket, "And even if it is dangerous, you've gotten a lot stronger in the last two months, Lee-kun. Without going on more challenging missions, you'll grow stagnant and there will be no reason for you to continue to grow. One day, you'll need to be strong enough to fight for this village, and to protect your own team. You want that, don't you, Lee?"

Lee stared up at his teacher with hurt and astonishment, "Of course I do, Harii-sensei!"

Harry nodded, "Then go get your pack and meet me at the front gate in one hour. Juyounagai is only a few kilometers to the west, and we can pick up supplies in town when we need to, but we'll still be there for a while."

Lee nodded with a determined frown, "Yosh, sensei! I will not let you down this time!"

Harry watched him go, shaking his head. Maybe he'd waited too long for their next C-Rank, but he'd hoped the extra training would bolster his student's self-confidence. Apparently, it hadn't worked as well as he'd hoped, but after seeing what a real C-Ranked mission was like, hopefully the Genin would settle down a little.

* * *

Two and a half hours later, they had made it to the small village of Juyounagai. Despite its close proximity to the village, Harry had never been to it before. The village was nestled up to the foot of the cliffs—the very same cliffs that, a few dozen kilometers to the East, bore the faces of the Hokage.

The streets were nothing more than trails packed in the dirt. Homes were far between, attached to small fields and farms, and off of the main road small, quaint buildings with brightly tiled roofs served as shops and stores. The people seemed friendly enough, and while they stared, they also smiled when they met the eyes of the shinobi.

Harry stopped beside a street vendor selling dried foods, ranging from oats and breads to dried peppers and fruits.

"Lee-kun, pick out some provisions for the week," he ordered, before approaching the owner.

The man—a little shorter than Harry and sporting a ridiculously bushy black mustache—watched as the Genin hurried to obey, and turned a slow smile towards the Jounin.

"Shinobi-san," he greeted formally, "What can I do for you and your student?"

The smile, Harry noticed, wasn't one that reached his eyes, and it put him a little on edge. He forced a smile in reply, and pulled out some bills that would more than cover whatever Lee picked out. "We're simply stocking up for a mission. We'll be staying out at Hiromi-san's temple for the week—do you know the one?"

The man's smile strained a little. "Of course," he replied, "Masashi-san lives on the Eastern outskirts of the town. I don't think you'll have any trouble with his _temple_—no one from town ever bothers with it."

Harry nodded and thanked him before snagging Lee to head out again. After speaking with the shopkeeper, he'd noticed that most of the smiles being sent their way seemed a little off—fake and forced—and he didn't want to stick around town longer than they had to.


	8. Enemies of Konoha

Extending the Boundaries

_R. Winters_

I am not going to go into the details. Suffice it to say, that it was a busy year-an injury kept me from even being able to type for a good portion of it, and then another move meant no internet and complications... anyway, I don't blame anyone who has stopped reading this, but for those of you who were waiting, I apologize for the lengthy absence, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I will be gone for the next 3 months or so, but I should be back in January. Living the dream, but it's a lot more work than I ever thought it would be! ((Please Forgive Me!))

Chapter 8 – Enemies of Konoha

It was a small temple, with a well kept yard at the base of the cliff, the entrance facing the town to the west. There were several neatly trimmed trees out front and the tiles of the roof were a dark blue, nearly black.

An older man with a fuzz of dark, graying hair growing haphazardly from his scalp came out to meet them before they'd even finished the long walk from the road to the temple. He was dressed in black robes with a dark blue sash, wore a small sack over one shoulder, and held a walking stick in his other hand. He didn't smile when they reached each other.

"Hiromi-san?" Harry asked, "We were sent by Konoha to—"

"I know," the old man interrupted, his expression remaining severe, "I was the one who requested you to come. I will only be away for a week or so, but somebody needs to keep an eye on things while I'm away and no one in town will do it."

Harry nodded. "I understand," he said, "Is there anything in particular you need us to look after while you're away, or just the everyday upkeep?"

The man looked at him hard for several seconds before his frown deepened and he answered, "I don't care what you do every day, as long as you keep the grave robbers away."

Harry blinked in surprise.

"Anything else?" The man asked with an irritated tone. When Harry didn't answer right away, he stepped between the two shinobi and continued down the path towards the town without a pause or a backwards glance.

Harry turned to watch him go, and then shot a bewildered look at his student—who was mirroring his expression back at him.

"Harii-sensei… did he say _grave _robbers?" Lee asked uneasily.

The Jounin nodded and turned to lead the way up to the temple with a sense of apprehension. He stepped up on the raised porch around the main building, and heard the clatter of Lee's feet as he stepped up behind him. They walked around the side of the building until the expanse behind the temple was visible.

Harry's feet ground to a halt, and he could only stand and stare. The expansive graveyard stretched out before him was huge—quite possibly larger than the one in Konoha—and it was blanketed in plain, black stones, spaced apart evenly across the ground.

"This mission… may be a little more interesting than I originally thought," the man muttered. Glancing at Lee he took in the boy's worried expression and smirked, adding, "But, still, they're only grave robbers. Certainly nothing a Genin can't handle, Lee-kun. Let's put our things inside."

* * *

"Harry Potter," the name was spat like a curse, with a slightly hissing quality to it.

"_Hatake_," Harry corrected with an automatic spike of irritation. He wasn't visibly bound, but he couldn't move, and he could feel a sort of pressure squeezing in around him.

His surroundings were dark, but not featureless—a black, moonless sky made it nearly impossible to make out anything past the shadowed ground immediately in front of him, but he could see the walls of the temple out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't see the other speaker, but he recognized the voice.

"Either name is equally deplorable," the voice stated hatefully—Harry struggled to escape the invisible pressure binding him, and flinched when something cold touched the back of his neck.

"Do you know that I knew your father?" The voice asked, tone lowered in a cold whisper.

Harry shivered with apprehension, unnerved at the feeling of cold fingers caressing the back of his head, but he couldn't move away from them. "You mean James Potter," he said.

The hand tightened painfully on the back of his neck, squeezing around the sides and making the teen gag. "James Potter was a deplorable man, to be sure, but Sakumo Hatake was just as bad—_worse_—and without a drop of wizarding blood in him." The voice laughed once, harshly, "He was hardly even _human_."

Harry's mind raced with confusion, but he couldn't voice the questions darting through his head, because the fingers were constricting and pressing in around the front, into his esophagus.

"You know, most would consider you a half-breed because of that, if they knew," the voice said harshly, "Those people—your _father's blood_—they're not even humans by the old laws. Oh, they _look_ human, but there's something different, isn't there? A baser species, really, and always searching for conflict." The hand withdrew.

"Shut _up_!" Harry snapped as soon as he could draw breath, his own voice scratchy and weak, "What the hell is that supposed to mean, anyway? And how do you know Hatake Sakumo?"

"That _creature_ was a thorn in my side more than once," the voice said coldly, "But you shall learn of that history soon enough. Do you know why you are here, boy?"

Harry felt another flush of irritation at being referred to as a child, but he pushed it down. "Because I'm asleep," he retorted with annoyance.

Usually, his nights were filled with shadowy, indistinct dreams, with whispering voices and pain. He was certain that he was dreaming, which was unusual in and of itself, but it felt real, even more real than most of his nightmares.

"Naturally, it is easier to bend you to my will as you sleep," the voice said coolly, "But soon that will no longer be necessary. Let's begin."

The shadowed world around him dissolved to blackness as pain crashed down around the teen. Usually, this was the part of the dream where he woke up, but this time the pain continued, and built, until Harry couldn't even think of whether he was dreaming or awake or anything else other than the all-consuming pain and the bone-crushing pressure threatening to turn him into paste.

* * *

"Sensei," Lee said anxiously, kneeling at his teacher's side as the man slept. Sweat was pouring down the man's face, and his expression was tightened, almost as though he was in pain, and the Genin wasn't quite sure what to do. He'd never even _seen_ his teacher sleep while they were on missions before, and now the sun was high and he couldn't get the man to wake up.

"Harii-sensei!" He repeated anxiously, shaking the man insistently. "Sensei, wake up!"

At last, the man's bright green eyes snapped open, with a sharp intake of breath—he was shivering, trembling, Lee realized—and the boy drew back, eyes wide. It took a few seconds for the man's breathing to slow, his eyes to focus, and the trembling in his limbs to stop. He reached up, wiping the back of his hand across his slick forehead and sat tiredly.

Lee was afraid to make a sound, and he could only watch, until his teacher slowly turned in his direction. He thought the man's eyes looked almost dead, and the dark shadows that were always around them seemed even deeper than usual.

"Are you alright, sensei…?" The Genin asked uncertainly.

Harry stared at him for a moment longer before seeming to shake the last of the sleep from his head and nodding. He pushed aside his covers and stood, answering with a distracted, "What time is it?"

Lee got to his feet as well, hovering worriedly behind his teacher as the man moved about, folding up his bedding. "It is late in the morning, sensei. I made breakfast for us while you were asleep, but you would not wake up when I called for you."

Setting the folded bedding aside, the man turned to smile at him—Lee blinked. He still wasn't entirely used to seeing the man without his mask, and had nearly had a heart-attack when he'd casually removed it as they prepared for bed last night. He'd just assumed the man never removed it, he supposed, although that had obviously been a silly theory. Lee knew firsthand how uncomfortable it was to sleep with a mask on, and had been grateful to follow his teacher's example of removing it at night.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Lee-kun," the Jounin said, "I guess I was more tired than I thought. You said you made breakfast?"

Reluctantly, Lee nodded, and led the way to the small kitchen. His teacher obviously didn't want to talk about what had happened, and he couldn't very well press him for details, even though he felt a little hurt that his teacher didn't trust him.

With a sigh, the Genin put the thought out of his head. After all, his teacher had probably just been very tired, like he said. He _looked _tired, and Lee was worrying for no reason. His teacher didn't need him to worry about him.

Still, he couldn't quite help the unease that gnawed inside of him, as he watched him slowly picking at the food on his plate.

Abruptly, Harry looked up, their eyes meeting again.

"Once we get back to the village, I'm going to head back to Hogwarts," he stated, "I might be gone a few days, so you'll need to keep up your training in the meantime."

Lee blinked in surprise, and frowned slightly. "You're not going to take me with you, sensei?"

The man smiled slightly, and Lee was taken aback again by his teacher's handsome, unmasked face. The boy flushed a little self-consciously and dropped his eyes to the table instead.

"You would be bored," the Jounin explained, "I have to check in on some old friends for information, and might need to do a little research myself."

Lee nodded his understanding, still a little hurt that his teacher wanted to go and leave him behind. "I understand, Harii-sensei," he mumbled.

"You might as well get a start on rounds, Lee-kun," Harry said a moment later as he stood, leaving behind a barely touched breakfast, "I'll join you in a few minutes."

* * *

From the branches of the trees, Harry watched as his student exchanged blows with one of the men they'd caught prowling around the graveyard. Despite the fact that he had already dealt with the other three, the Jounin held himself back from going after the last one.

The group had been more skilled than he'd expected, but hadn't been a match for him, especially after he'd knocked one out with a curse before they'd even realized they were there, the remaining two had kept him busy for a few minutes, while Lee grappled with the other, but Harry's skill had been greater.

Lee was on the defensive, and the man was pressing the advantage his larger size and longer reach gave him, bearing down at the boy ruthlessly with a staff, while simultaneously keeping the Genin at a distance and too far to make any connections of his own. Lee was fast, and he was strong, using a kunai to block most of the swings and his own forearm if he couldn't quite get it up in time, but the man was stronger, and at least as fast, and the boy was slowly wearing down.

They were on their fourth day at the temple, and it was the first time they'd had any trouble, so Harry was determined to let Lee handle himself as long as he could, but he found himself light on the balls of his feet, ready to jump in the instant it looked like his student's life was in danger.

The man swung his staff around in a brutal, overhead strike that knocked Lee's kunai from his hands and knocked the boy off his feet, the errant kunai drawing a line of blood on the boy's arm as it went flying.

Lee stared up at the man with wide eyes as he approached, and scrambled backwards, one hand reaching for another kunai.

Harry could almost see where his student's mind was stuck—back where he'd been completely overwhelmed by the sword-wielding man who had nearly killed him. His muscles tensed and he was ready to jump from the tree when, abruptly, his student's voice rang out down below.

"_Protritum_!" The boy shouted—his fingers hadn't found a kunai, but he was holding his wand, and the advancing man was too close to dodge, even if he hadn't been stalled by the confused expression on his face.

The spell hit him squarely in the chest, and the man flew back into a tree—splintering the trunk with the force of his impact.

He slumped down, his body shaking and blood running down his neck from the back of his head, but he shakily returned to his feet. Lee was already in front of him and delivered a final, devastating uppercut to the underside of the man's chin. This time, he didn't get back up and Harry relaxed, slipping out of the tree.

The Genin was shaking a little, where he stood over the collapsed body—a combination of adrenalin and exhaustion, Harry guessed—and he approached carefully.

"Let's get him with the others," Harry ordered, his voice making his student turn to look at him in surprise. Harry smiled grimly, his eyes flexing a little, "You did well, Lee-kun."

The boy's entire face—masked, though it was—lit up with the announcement, and he hastened to pull out some wire to bind their captive with. "Thank you, sensei!"

Harry nodded and watched as he worked, but the smile had faded from his face. These men had been stronger than your usual grave robbers, and he suspected he knew why, although a more thorough search of their bodies would be necessary to confirm his suspicions.

This wasn't a normal graveyard. The graves were unmarked and the bodies were buried deep, and despite the fact that there were only decomposing corpses, people like this came after them.

It had to be a graveyard for shinobi—for the enemies of Konoha killed on or around her own soil.

* * *

Lee knew he was only a Genin and didn't need to be worrying about his teacher, but the bags under his eyes had been getting darker, and Lee was pretty sure that he hadn't slept at all since the first night. He was always sent to bed first, and the man's bedding would still be folded in the morning.

Of course, since it was his teacher, the Jounin was still one of the most amazing people Lee had ever seen fight, so the boy supposed however much sleep he was getting, it was enough. Still, sometimes he caught him just staring vacantly out at the graveyard, and he'd appear startled when he called out to him.

* * *

Harry hadn't slept at all for almost five days, and he was anxiously waiting for Harumi to return, because he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep it up. But the thought of falling back into his nightmares in this place terrified the young Jounin. If it hadn't been for Lee, he wasn't sure he would have woken up, and he wasn't convinced that he would be able to wake up the next time, even with Lee's help.

Exhaustion was getting to him, though. He couldn't sit down or he was sure he'd fall asleep. Even standing up, he caught himself falling asleep on his feet, and waking up an instant later, falling, with the eerie feeling that he'd just been looking into a pair of evil, red eyes.

Worse still, sometimes, he thought he could hear the whispering from his dreams, even while he was awake.

Harry was tempted to write to the Hokage and request a relief, but it was a C-Ranked mission, and the cost of sending another team out here would probably cut out their profits altogether. He could last another day or two.

* * *

"Lee," Harry started abruptly.

Lee, who had been watching his teacher with a frown and had been certain the man didn't realize he was there, jumped with surprise and shifted guiltily, moving closer to the Jounin. "Yes, sensei?"

"I need you to run into the village and get some more supplies," the teen ordered, "Also, ask around and see if anyone's heard news of Hiromi-san's return."

The boy frowned seriously and nodded. "I'll be back soon, Harii-sensei," he promised.

Harry watched him leave absently and turned his attention back to the graveyard.

He simply stood there, staring, for several minutes, before slowly stepping off of the temple's back porch and moving to walk among the field of graves, simple black stones laid into the earth.

He walked slowly, and with no real destination inside. He supposed he simply needed to move—exhaustion was dragging heavily on his mind.

Harry blinked slowly, and it took several minutes for him to realize his feet had come to a stop. Clouds had moved in, covering the sun, and the sky had darkened several shades.

"Harry…"

The voice whispering in his ear was a familiar one and he didn't question it for an instant. He was hearing things again, but it was nothing new.

The teen let his eyes close tiredly, trying to block it out, but when his eyes opened again it was even darker than before.

His lips twitched towards a frown and he looked up. There was no sun in the sky. It wasn't black, like at night, but more of a shadowy gray, like being closed in a room with light filtering in from somewhere else.

When he looked down again, he found himself standing in front of an open grave.

Harry took a step backwards in surprise.

"_Constrictum Serpens_," a voice behind him hissed, and before the Jounin could react, a rush of lengthy snakes were leaping out at him, fangs wide open and torsos seeming to extend indefinitely.

He jerked back, but the snakes grabbed hold of him, fangs sinking into flesh and coils wrapping around him tightly and jerking him forward and off of his feet. Fire blazed through his blood everywhere their venom seeped into him, and he hardly even felt the collision with the cold dirt inside the deep grave.

He struggled, managing to rip free from several of the serpents and turn to see the shadowed figure standing over the fresh grave—all he could make out was the wide smile and red eyes, gleaming in the dim light.

* * *

Lee unloaded the things he'd bought in the kitchen before venturing out back in search for his teacher. His pace slowed and he frowned when he didn't see the man on the back porch, as usual, and he scanned the surrounding field critically, wondering if something had happened while he was gone—another group of grave robbers or something.

The boy's eyes widened when he saw a body slumped over on the ground towards the back of the field. Immediately he took off running, biting back his words before he could shout out his teacher's name. If they were under an attack, he didn't want to draw attention to himself.

As he drew close, it became obvious that the slumped body _was_ his teacher, and there was a complete lack of blood, or any other signs of an attack. Once he was sure there was no one alone, Lee couldn't help himself anymore.

"Harii-sensei!" He cried, practically tackling the Jounin in his haste to get him turned over.

The man's face was pale, and the shadows around his eyes were as dark as ever. He was sweaty, his breathing uneven, and his heart was racing.

"Sensei!" The Genin cried again, desperately, as he shook the man.

It looked as though he was sleeping, but the unusual heartbeat made him nervous. He pressed a hand just over the man's eyes, feeling for a fever, but while his skin was heated, it didn't feel hot enough to explain him passing out. When he drew his hand back, he noticed he'd smeared some blood between the man's eyebrows, and looking at his own hand, he noticed a small amount of blood smeared on his thumb—but he wasn't hurt.

Eyes widening further, the Genin reached out to shakily push his teacher's hitai-ate out of the way.

More slick blood smeared across the man's forehead as he drew the cloth away, and Lee carefully wiped it clean with his forearm, pressing gently to keep from aggravating a head injury. But there were no bumps—there was only a single, jagged cut in the middle of his forehead, which was sluggishly weeping blood.

He hadn't really _noticed_ it before, but he did remember seeing a scar in that same place the few times he'd seen his teacher without his hitai-ate and mask. Still, an old scar wouldn't be bleeding like this.

Anxiously, Lee looked back towards the temple. He couldn't very well leave it when it was their job to protect it, but his teacher needed help.

Setting the man back on the ground the Genin stood, pacing anxiously as he tried to decide what he should do. He couldn't give up the mission, but he needed to do something for his teacher.

Glancing at the temple again, he decided the very least he could do was move his teacher inside, and see if there was a doctor in the village who could help. Maybe he was just sick—maybe he'd eaten something rotten.

Nodding to himself, Lee bent down, wrapping his arms under the man's so he could drag him across to the temple without worrying about hitting his head.

He was a little surprised that the man wasn't heavier, but by the time he was heaving him up onto the small raised porch at the temple, he could only be grateful, because the man was difficult enough to move without any additional bulk.

Finally, he had his teacher inside, and laid back on his bedding, with a wet cloth across his forehead, hovering over him anxiously.

They needed a doctor.

"Do not worry, sensei," he said gravely, "I will take care of you this time."

Nodding to himself, the boy ran off back to the town.

* * *

Eventually, the anxious Genin had managed to drag an unenthusiastic village doctor out to the temple. The old man had dragged his feet the entire way, and even as he examined the Jounin, he grumbled, scratching at his rounded belly and his balding head and generally delaying doing anything useful.

Lee sat beside him, face drawn in a serious frown, waiting nervously for some sort of diagnosis.

"Hmm…" the man said at last, gently laying the shinobi's arm back by his side after taking his pulse. He looked across at Lee for a long, somber moment. "You said he's been like this how long?"

Lee shook his head, "I do not know exactly. At least four hours now, but it could be closer to five."

"Hmm…" the old man said again, frowning down at the Jounin.

Lee shifted uncomfortably when the man didn't continue. At last, he spoke, "Isha-san, what is wrong with him?"

"Hmm…" the doctor mused again. He took a deep, slow breath, still looking at the man, "I believe your sensei is just a heavy sleeper. He probably hasn't been sleeping properly for a while."

Lee would be the first to admit that that was probably true, but he'd never known the man to be a heavy sleeper before. In fact, on their first C-Ranked mission, the man had stressed on him the importance of being able to wake up easily and quickly. He was doubtful.

"What about the bleeding?" Lee pressed.

The man breathed again, long and slow, "Hmm… Probably, he simply reopened the wound. Tissues sometimes become more fragile when the body is neglected." He looked at the boy with a wide frown, "You shinobi are too harsh with your bodies."

Lee was doubtful. The scar he'd seen before had been an old one, and it should have been tougher than the rest of his skin.

"Is there not something we can do?" He asked desperately.

"Hmm…" the doctor ruminated over the young Jounin again before shaking his head. He stood slowly, using a cane to help him, and Lee jumped to his feet, offering his own arm in support. The large man took it, nearly pulling the boy down on top of him as he climbed to his feet.

"Let him rest for now," he ordered. "He'll probably wake up on his own in a day or two."

Lee nodded dejectedly. "Hai, Isha-san… thank you for your help."

* * *

Harry did not wake up the next day, and Lee sat by his side anxiously, hardly even willing to leave long enough to get something to eat or ensure the traps around the graveyard were still undisturbed. He slept all the following night, as well.

Lee had startled awake, once, when he'd heard his teacher groan, but the man's face had only tightened for a few moments, before it went slack again and he slept on.

The Genin was growing more convinced each day that his teacher was not simply sleeping off exhaustion, but there was something seriously wrong with him.

His final night at the temple, Lee had fallen asleep during his vigil at his teacher's side, and the nightmare he'd woken up from had kept him awake the rest of the night.

He couldn't remember the details entirely, just the darkness and the cold, and something that was definitely _not_ his teacher coming out of the man's body and shedding it like an old snake skin.

Lee had made up his mind to leave that morning. With his teacher, it would probably take the entire day for him to get back to the village, anyway, and he wasn't convinced that the village doctor had known exactly what he was doing when he examined the Jounin.

Surely, the life of his teacher was worth more than whatever they were being paid for this mission, anyway, and at any rate, the traps were intact. Hopefully, they would keep would be robbers away until Hiromi returned.

The quickest way to get to the village was to cut through the graveyard, and since Lee had spent the last week guarding it, he wasn't at all bothered by the unmarked graves. He was much more concerned about cutting out the time it would take to get through the village—especially if the villagers wanted to ask him about why he was carrying his teacher.

Lee lashed the larger man across his back and removed his weights, leaving them behind as he bent beneath the Jounin's weight, a determined frown on his face. If he could just make it back to Konoha, then everything would be alright.


End file.
